The Vampire City
by yugixyamiyaoilover
Summary: A simple human stumbles across the 'vampire city' while on a dig in Cairo, Egypt. The Vampire King takes a liking to this human and decides to make him his mate. Can the human handle the pressure of being the King's mate? YxYY Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**The Vampire City**

**Genre**: Romance

**Rating**: T for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairing: **YamixYugi (other pairings may come later)

**Summary**: A simple human stumbles across the 'vampire city' while on a dig in Cairo, Egypt. The Vampire King takes a liking to this human and decides to make him his mate. Can the human handle the pressure of being the King's mate or will he fall under the pressure?

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**Small Notes**

Sakura: This story came to me in a dream after going to see Alice and Wonderland. It is not a twisted remake of the movie, but another idea that I think is awesome.

Yumi: Also we are doing the disclaimer in the first chapter only because it is perfectly clear we do not own anything but the plot. This one disclaimer is for the whole story.

**Disclaimer: YU-GI-OH, ALICE AND WONDERLAND, BLACK BLOOD BROTHERS, AND TWILIGHT DO NOT AND NEVER WILL BELONG TO US!**

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**Chapter 1**

**FALLEN DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE**

Life used to be so simple at first until it was turned upside down

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Five thousand years ago there was a great and terrible power that threatens to destroy the world. One pharaoh took it upon himself to rid the world of this power and take it as his own. The power consumed him and in turn turned him into a monster. The people feared this almighty pharaoh and tried to rid the world of him. It wasn't until three thousand years later that a group of human warriors were able to find a way to kill the pharaoh. Once the pharaoh realized that his life was in danger he began to change his ways. Things however did not become better, the warriors didn't care if the pharaoh changed his ways they wanted him dead. A war of survival broke out between the human warriors and the vampires, as the humans now called them.

During the battle the pharaoh became badly wounded and his chances of living were slim. The pharaoh's followers took it upon themselves to protect the pharaoh and compromise with the warriors. A deal was decided and the vampires were given their own city to live in. Some humans decide to follow the vampires whether it be because they were loved ones or for protection. They went to the city to live in peace with the vampires. Some even became donors for the vampires, since that is what the vampires needed to live. Two major rules were developed to ensure peace between the vampire city and other cities of the world.

1. Vampires are not allowed to leave the vampire city. Only humans may leave and enter if they wish.

2. Vampires are not allowed to change a human unless the human wants to be changed.

Nothing was finalized until a year later when the pharaoh recovered from the battle. The pharaoh agreed to these terms and with the help of the people of the world a city for vampires was built. The city was built in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean and a barrier was placed around it so that if anyone sailed the ocean they would go right through it. The only way in and out of the city was to go through one of the many portals placed around the world. Some portals were hidden in secret locations, because one day the humans, who hated vampires, hoped to be rid of vampires forever. If the portals were to be carefully closed over time, the vampires would hopefully lose their supply of humans and die off. Years passed and most humans had forgotten about vampires and the so called vampire city. Only a few portals reminded open because they were guarded by a few human families that the King of the vampires trusted.

Our story begins two thousand years later after the vampire city was built with a young human boy named Yuugi Mutou.

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**Cairo, Egypt 2010**

Twenty-year old Yuugi Mutou stood before the entrance to the famous Nameless Pharaoh's tomb. This young man looked short for his age and the child and feminine like features did not help him. His height was about five one and he's weight was ninety two. He has extremely extravagant hair that has multiple layers including long blond crooked, pointy locks for his fringe, the rest features five large spikes colored black with magenta sheen along the edges. Doe like amethyst eyes stared at the surroundings taking it all in, before he began his decent down the many stairs leading into the tomb.

This young lad was on a trip with his archeology class from Cairo University. He was one year away from getting his degree and this happened to be his last assignment for his junior year. Field experience was always the fun part for Yuugi, because he got to discover new things and it kept him out of the classrooms.

Two of his other fellow juniors rushed over with flashlights. One handed Yuugi a flashlight and they began their walk down the dark tomb. It was against the school rules for students to go into any tomb until they got their degree, but Yuugi didn't care. He had been on many digs with his grandfather, Solomon Mutou, when he was younger so he knew what he was doing. The only thing the three had to worry about was getting caught by one of the superiors on the site and so far everyone was having lunch in their tents.

Yuugi shined his flashlight in front of him to keep from tripping over anything. "Watch your step and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. This tomb is known for its traps."

The other two juniors agreed and kept the light from the flashlights in front of them.

Yuugi couldn't understand how the tomb was so dark after most of the team upstairs had already been down there. He was sure they would have already set up some touches or some lights of some kind.

Before long they were deep in the tomb and Yuugi's thoughts were broken when he no longer heard the sound of his classmates' footsteps behind him. Turning around Yuugi found that they were no longer behind him. "Where did they run off to?" He shined his flashlight straight ahead to see if they were coming, but found the path completely empty. Hoping that they did not get lost, Yuugi retraced his steps to see if he could find them.

However, when he got back to the stairs he found something more shocking. Sunlight no longer poured into the tomb from the top of the stairs. Panic began to set in his stomach as he ran up the stairs to find his only way out sealed off. Yuugi began to yell for help and pound on the rock. "Is anyone out there? I'm one of the students and I'm trapped in here!"

Unfortunately his voice was falling on death's ear.

* * *

Outside the tomb the two gentlemen who had been with Yuugi were outside the tomb laughing their asses off while relaxing. They had tricked Yuugi into going into the tomb with them and when the boy was distracted they turned back around and left the tomb. They made sure to seal the exit off good so it would be a good few hours before Yuugi was released.

Some would wonder why the men were being so mean to Yuugi, because it would seem Yuugi could not even hurt a fly. The truth is Yuugi had unintentionally gotten their older brother expelled from the University. The brother had been stealing artifacts from the University museum to sell on the side. Yuugi had been at the museum taking pictures of some of the artifacts and caught the boy on camera by accident. When the teacher saw the pictures, the dean was left to investigate and the truth was found out. Yuugi was awarded for finding out who the culprit was and the brother was expelled, and then later arrested on charges of theft.

One of the younger brothers pulled two bottles of beer out of his bag. "Once the superiors open the tomb back up and find Yuugi inside, Yuugi is sure to be expelled."

The other brother took one of the beers and popped the cap. "I say we celebrate for a job well done."

They kinked the bottles together before taking a drink.

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Yuugi lead against the blocked entrance holding his throbbing hand close to his chest. He could not believe what was happening to him. If the superiors of the dig found him in there he would be expelled and then he could kiss his degree goodbye. Standing up he made his way back down into the tomb, holding the flashlight with his one good hand. It was possible that his other hand was broken from all the pounding he did on the doorway.

"I refuse to believe that was the only way out." Yuugi said to himself. He wanted to keep his hopes up that he could make it out without losing his degree.

He walked down many hallways before coming to a fork in the road. "Something is not right about this tomb. There are way too many hallways." It took Yuugi a few minutes to decide which hallway to go down, but after a good inter debate he picked left. He knew one of the ways must come to a dead end, so if the left one did, he would retrace his steps and go down the right path.

However Yuugi did not come to realize some of the secrets the tomb carried. One secret happen to be a way into the vampire city. Yuugi had happened to choose the path that had the portal so once he came to the so called 'dead end'. He lean against the wall to take a break and was sucked into a whole new place.

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Sakura: So what did everyone think about my new story?

(Crickets chirping)

Yumi: I liked it! So if you liked my Hikari's story, please drop a review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Small Note**

**Sakura:** (holds up an award) I would just like to thank everyone who reviewed for this story. 15 reviews for one short chapter have blessed me with so much inspiration to write more.

**Yumi**: (pushes Sakura off the stage) Ignore her; she has had too much sugar. The story begins below so shoo!

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**Chapter 2**

**WHERE AM I?**

I've fallen down the rabbit hole and I don't know where I am

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Amethyst eyes opened to find themselves in a strange room. The walls were a dark red and the carpet below his feet was black. Along three of the walls were glowing portals of some sort that you would see in sci-fi shows. In front of him in the middle of the room was a rather large oak desk with a tall female sitting behind it.

She had short bubble gum pink hair and gray eyes hidden behind slim glasses. She wore a navy suit with a white shirt and red tie. Looking up she frowned at Yuugi, before looking through some papers on her desk.

Yuugi carefully approached the desk unsure of what was going on. "Excuse me, miss?"

The woman looked up at him again, but this time with a smile. "Hello sir, I hope your arrival was pleasant."

This through Yuugi for a loop and he wasn't sure how to answer her.

She began working through the papers at a faster pace. "If you will give me a moment, I will have all your papers ready."

"Uh…" Yuugi was a little unsure about what she was talking about. "What papers?"

She paused in her looking to look up at him again. "Did no one tell you that you will be receiving your citizenship papers as soon as you arrive?"

Yuugi shook his head. "I wasn't aware that I filled out anything to become a citizen of this place. Where am I exactly?"

The woman froze on the spot, before slowly moving her hand to telephone not far from her. She picked up the receiver and placed it to her ears, before pushing the numbers quickly with her other hand.

Yuugi watched her wait a few minutes before he heard someone speaking on the other end.

"We have a problem down here. Can you please send one of them to help me sort it out?"

After a reply was given the lady set the receiver down. She flashed Yuugi another smile. "We will get this sorted out in a moment."

Yuugi was a little worried about how they would sort the problem out. He didn't even know where he was or what was going on. He didn't want to go to jail for entering a place illegally.

His thoughts were halted by a ding from one of two elevators that sat behind the lady on the fourth wall. When the doors opened a rather tall and muscular man stepped out. He looked to be about nine-teen or so, but Yuugi could never be sure with people this day and age. He had shaggy black hair that fell somewhat in his face so he had to flip it back like every second. His eyes were an amazing shade of dark green that it reminded Yuugi of a forest. He wore dark blue jeans with holes in the knees and a white tank top.

The male walked up to the desk before turning his back to Yuugi and leaning against the desk facing the woman. "So what seems to be the probably sweet thang?"

The pink hair female had a light blush come across her cheeks before it went away. "Don't call me sweet thang Taylor or I'm going to sic your daddy on you."

Taylor flipped his hair back for a fourth time since he walked into the room. "I'm not afraid of my big bad pops."

A chuckle escaped the female. "I would be. Remember last time you hit on me and hurt poor Ethan's feelings."

Taylor glared at the woman. "I was trying to forget! How was I supposed to know Ethan was in the room? I was only playing around and you know I don't have feelings for you like that Chloe."

Chloe smiled up at Taylor. "I know you don't, but you need to stop, before something like last time happens again."

Taylor sighed before taking a look at the papers shattered on Chloe's desk. "So what seems to be the problem?"

Chloe pointed at Yuugi. "He has no idea where he is at and I don't have any paper work on him."

Yuugi felt beats of sweat roll down his neck as both sets of eyes turned on him.

"Did you even ask him for his name?"

Chloe shook her head. "I wouldn't need to know his name. You know every file has a picture with it."

Taylor stood up straight and walked around the desk to Yuugi. "So what's your name kid?"

Yuugi glared up at Taylor. "I'm not a kid and if you must know my name is Yuugi." He would get pass his nervousness to set someone straight about his age.

Taylor took another look at Chloe, who only shook her head. With a sigh Taylor turned and started walking back toward the elevators. "Follow me Yuugi and we will hopefully get this mess fixed up."

It wasn't like Taylor was giving Yuugi much of a choice, so Yuugi hurried to catch up with Taylor and get on the elevator. Once inside the doors closed and they began their journey upwards.

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When the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, Yuugi could not believe his eyes. He stepped off the elevator and walked into what seemed like a post office. The room had bright white walls and a red titled floor with a rose pattern in it. About thirty people were running around the room sorting mail and putting them into mail bags.

Taylor put a hand on Yuugi's shoulder and led him toward a door. Once they walked through it, they ended up in the front office of the post office. It looked similar to the sorting room in colors, but this room only had a front desk where people dropped off their packages to be sent. Three people stood behind the desk tending to people who were in line.

They walked by everyone and headed to the front door, which Yuugi hoped led outside. His prayers were answered when the beautiful sun hit his face. The air was nice and warm so that it was comfortable to walk around outside. As he took in his surroundings, Yuugi noticed the city looked like any normal downtown. 'At least it's not some weird alternate world.'

Taylor walked over to a motorcycle that was parked next to the post office. "Let's get you to the castle." He hoped onto the bike and tossed Yuugi the helmet.

Yuugi stood next to the bike with the helmet in his hands. "Castle?" He decided it was best not to count out the alternate world just yet.

Taylor nodded. "We need to get your situation worked out with my father."

"Who's your father?" Yuugi asked. He figured Taylor's father had to be pretty high up.

Taylor smiled. "He's the King."

Yuugi swore his jaw dropped to the ground.

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It took about five minutes to get Yuugi on the motorcycle and it took another thirty minutes to get to the castle. When Yuugi saw the supposed castle he felt like he had gone into the past when pharaoh's stilled walked the earth. The entire place was built like a pharaoh's palace, but instead of a golden color like the ones in the pictures Yuugi remembered seeing, this place was completely black. Some of the towers around the building had red roofs.

The guards at the front gate opened the doors as soon as they saw Taylor. They reminded Yuugi of guards you would see in England.

Taylor rode passed them and into what looked like a court yard. The grass was a beautiful perfect green and there were many trees and brushes growing everywhere. The motorcycle went down a long gravel path until they pulled up beside a long staircase leading to two huge double doors. Taylor turned the bike off and got off. Two guys dressed in white suits with black shirts and white ties seem to appear out of nowhere.

One rolled the bike away once Yuugi got off of it and the other took the helmet from Yuugi after he got it off.

Yuugi watched them walk away until they were out of site before following Taylor inside. The inside of the so called castle, had Yuugi speechless. Everything was beautiful and looked perfect. They stood inside the foyer for a second until Taylor gently grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the stairs.

They went up three flights of stairs before coming to two huge oak doors that towered over them. Taylor knocked twice before standing back.

"You may enter!" A male voice from within the room called out.

Taylor pushed open one of the doors with no effort and stepped inside. Yuugi followed him in before the door was closed behind them.

The room was huge with bookshelves lining three of the main walls and the fourth wall behind a rather large oak desk was one huge window with small glass doors that led to a balcony. From what Yuugi could see of the walls at the top of the bookshelves he could tell they were a dark red color and the floor was a dark brown color with a plush black carpet. A red leather couch was set off not too far from them and two red leather chairs were placed in front of the desk. The desk itself was a sight made out of a fine dark wood with perfectly craved patterns of roses going across the front. It had a pile of books set on top of it and piles of papers.

Yuugi felt like disappearing when his eyes set on who was behind the desk. The male was sitting in a black leather chair with his arms resting on the desk. From what Yuugi could see of him he was wearing a black long sleeve turtle neck shirt with a dark red sleeveless jacket. His hair was similar to Yuugi's, but most of his blond locks jut upwards into his hair. What really made Yuugi shrink behind Taylor was the man's face; it was covered by a black mask with small slits for the eyes so the person could see.

"What seems to be the problem Taylor?" The man had a deep baritone voice that Yuugi was sure any girl would fall for.

Taylor moved Yuugi in front of him. "Seems he never applied for citizenship, but still ended up in our city."

The man placed a hand under his chin and moved into a thinking position. "That does seem to be a problem. What's your name little one?"

Yuugi pouted and crossed his arms. "For the last time I am not a child! I am twenty years old and if you must know my name is Yuugi Mutou."

"How dare you speak to the King like that?!" Yuugi turned to see another person had entered the room. He looked like Taylor's twin, but he had blond instead of black hair.

The new male marched up to Yuugi and grabbed him by the front of his black shirt. "Talking to the King with such a mouth could get you killed."

Before anything else could happen the King had moved out from behind his desk and walked up to the three. Yuugi could now see that the red jacket went down to the King's knees and he was also wearing black leather pants that looked like a second skin.

The King placed a tan hand on the arm of the one holding Yuugi. "This young lad is new to the city and doesn't know its rules. It would be wise Ethan to put the boy down."

Ethan looked toward his ruler before placing Yuugi down. "Very well."

Yuugi looked up at the King and noticed he was a good five inches taller. Taylor and Ethan were a good five eleven by Yuugi's guess so they were still the tallest people in the room.

Taylor wrapped an arm around Ethan and dragged him to the couch were they both took a seat.

The King took Yuugi by the arm and led him to one of the chairs in front of the desk. Once Yuugi was settled the King took his rightful place behind the desk. "So let us get down to business. Do you know where you are Yuugi?"

Yuugi shook his head. "No I do not your highness." He thought formalities would be wise unless he wanted to feel someone else's wrath.

The King lean back in his chair and crossed his arms. "How is it you came to find our city?"

Yuugi began his long story of how he was on a dig in Cairo, Egypt and went into the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh, got trapped, and then ended up there.

The King sat in silence and listened until Yuugi was finished. "That is a problem. We will have to sort this out post haste. Do you wish to stay in our city?"

Yuugi rubbed the back of his head in nervousness. "I'm sorry your highness, but I have no idea where I even am."

The King chuckled. "Perhaps I should explain where you are so you may make that choice. Yuugi you have happen to stumble across the forgotten Vampire City."

Yuugi felt his jaw drop before he quickly closed it two seconds later. "V-vampire c-city?" He couldn't keep himself from stumbling over his words. He didn't even think Vampires existed.

"Yes, this is a city where vampires are free to be themselves without fear of being hunted and killed. Vampires used to come from where you live but were banished here. We are not allowed to leave this city, however the humans who live here are free to leave and come back as they wish. Over time this city has become forgotten so not many humans come anymore. The only humans that come through the portal now are ones that used to live here, left, and then came back. Humans and vampires live in peace here so you have nothing to worry about if you decide to stay. We have a law saying that a human cannot be changed unless he or she wishes it."

Yuugi looked at the King in shock before turning in his seat to look at Taylor and Ethan. The two boys on the couch flashed him a smile and he could see the fangs coming out from under their upper lip. He had to lean back in his chair and took deep calming breaths to keep from fainting.

"Our government will have everything ready for you to settle here if you choose to stay here." The King continued explaining. "Every new human or returning human that we get is given a job and a house to live in free of charge for the first year."

Yuugi finally reopened his eyes after a minute or so having not realized he closed them. "I'm sorry your majesty. This is a lot to take in and I had no idea vampires even existed. I have a life back at home I need to get to. I'm really sorry if I caused any trouble, I had no idea there was a portal to this place in the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb."

The King understood Yuugi completely. "It is quite alright Yuugi. You are allowed to return home without any problem. We are supposed to have guardians protecting the portals so that nothing like this happens. It is required that humans apply for citizenship with the guardians before coming so that I may approve or disapprove of them coming. I don't need any criminals coming into my city to cause trouble."

Yuugi let out a sigh of relief. He was glad to hear he could go home. "Thank you your highness."

Taylor got up from his seat and stood behind Yuugi's chair. "If you don't mind father, I would like to escort Yuugi back to the portals."

"That will be quite alright. I hope your journey back home goes smoothly."

Yuugi shook hands with the King briefly, before getting up to leave with Taylor. "Thank you for understanding."

Once Taylor and Yuugi left the room, Ethan moved from the couch and stood beside his father. "What's up dad?"

The King looked up at his son. "What are you talking about?"

Ethan grinned at him. "I think someone has a crush."

The King looked back down at the papers on his desk and began to look through them. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Dad, I can read your body language and you don't normally act nice to people. Something about Yuugi has caught your attention."

"Yuugi will be gone within the hour so drop it."

Ethan sighed. "We could have easily persuaded him into staying. I really think you need that someone special to make your life happier."

The King patted his son's arm. "I'm happy with the family I have now, so please drop it and go hang out with your younger siblings."

"I may not be happy with your choice, but I will respect it." Ethan left the room and once he was a good ways down the hall, he leaned against the wall. "I hope dad doesn't come to regret his decision later on."

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Within an hour, Taylor had Yuugi back in the room where Chloe and the portals were. Chloe offered them a smile. "So how did things go?"

"Dad took it rather well, but Yuugi here needs to get back to Cairo."

Chloe pretended to look upset. "Aw you're not going to stay with us?"

Yuugi shook his head. "It was nice meeting you, but I need to get back home."

Chloe agreed. "Feel free to come back if you ever want to change your life around. Vampire City is the best place to be when you want to start over."

Yuugi shook her hand. "I will keep this place in mind." Before he turned to go to the portal that would take him home, he turned back to Chloe. "You wouldn't happen to know who was supposed to guard the portal in the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb, would you."

"The Ishtar family would be the one who guard that portal, so if you ever wish to come back, just go to them and fill out a citizenship form."

"What if I was just coming to visit?"

Chloe thought about that for a minute. "Then you would send a letter to our King with information about who you are going to visit and for how long. It's a simple process, so if you ever want to visit just find the Ishtars and they will help you out."

Yuugi thanked her again and follow Taylor to the portal he needed to go through. As they stood in front of it, Yuugi looked up at Taylor. "Will anyone believe me about this place?"

Taylor shrugged. "You can tell the world about us, but I'm not sure how many would believe you."

Yuugi couldn't help it; he wrapped his arms around Taylor. "Thank you for everything."

Taylor was surprised by the hug so he just stood there. "Uh… you're welcome."

Yuugi moved back away from Taylor after a minute. "Sorry, I just wasn't sure how things were going to go. So I guess this is goodbye."

Taylor ruffled Yuugi's hair. "I wouldn't say goodbye, I think a see ya later is better."

Yuugi agreed with that. "Then see ya later." He stepped through the portal and when he came back out, he was happy to see himself back in the tomb. The only thing that scared him was the lights hung from the wall. This meant that the superiors were back digging in the tomb and that if they found Yuugi, he could kiss his college life goodbye.

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Sakura: I think I will leave you all there. I'm not making any of my readers do this, but I would like some longer reviews. It gets old seeing 'Great chapter update soon' I want to know what people really thought. What was your favorite part? What did you not like about it? Stuff like that. Just please don't review about my grammar, I'm working on my writing.

Yumi: Review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **I am so happy with my reviews! They keep pouring in and they made me want to type up the next chapter! I am pleased to see everyone is enjoying this story and in this chapter we will find out what happens to Yuugi.

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**Chapter 3**

**STARTING OVER**

I've found my way back home, but nothing is going right

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It was rather difficult for Yuugi to sneak around the tomb and get to the entrance when so many people were working. He would have to hide behind a statue until some of the workers passed by before hurrying to the next hiding place. Adrenaline was flowing through Yuugi's body keeping him moving because he feared getting caught. Just when Yuugi believed he was home free and he walked out of the tomb with no one seeing him, a hand came down onto his shoulder.

Yuugi looked up and to his left to see the main boss of the dig. He wore a frown on his face as he looked down at Yuugi.

"Yuugi, what were you doing in that tomb?"

Yuugi gave a nervous smile. "Sir I have no idea what you are talking about. I was just standing around near the front. I know we are not allowed in the tomb."

The boss sighed. "Yuugi I saw you come out of the tomb." He turned and motioned for Yuugi to follow. "We're going to have to go back to campus and see the dean."

Yuugi swore his heart fell down into his stomach. It was all over for him now.

As the two walked toward one of the jeeps, he saw the two boys who had gone down with him smiling and waving at him. He glared at the two, before getting into the passenger seat. 'How could I let them set me up like that?' Yuugi thought as the boss started the car and drove through the desert.

* * *

The four hour drive back to the campus was horrible. The whole time Yuugi's stomach was in knots and his heart was beating a hundred miles per minute. When they pulled in front of the administration building, Yuugi felt like gluing his booty to his seat. His boss came around and opened the door for Yuugi. Having no other choice Yuugi got out and walked the death march all the way to the dean's office.

The dean wasn't a strict guy, but if you broke the rules he wouldn't be afraid to lay the law down. He was a guy who was big on rules and enforced them.

After what seemed like forever they arrived at the door with the words dean's office across it. His boss opened the door and they walked into the small front office with the secretary in it.

She looked up as they arrived and smiled at Yuugi. "Hello there Yuugi, I haven't seen you in a while. Are you here for a visit?"

The boss walked up to her and whispered something. Yuugi sighed and took a seat waiting on his faith.

* * *

It wasn't but 10 minutes later that the dean walked out of his office. Another student was behind him and he didn't look happy. Once the student was set free, the dean turned to Yuugi. The dean was a tall elderly man with gray hair and bread. He had bright blue eyes that showed he was a kind and caring man.

The boss of the dig got up from his seat and walked up to the dean. "Sorry to disturb you Mr. Riley, but we had a problem at the dig."

"So what my secretary emailed me was true."Mr. Riley shook his head and gave Yuugi a stern look. "I will have a word with young Yuugi Mutou here while you return to your job site."

Yuugi followed the dean back into his office where the door was shut and he sat in a seat in front of Mr. Riley's desk. Mr. Riley calmly walked behind his desk and took a seat. "I understand from the email my secretary sent me that you were found coming out of the tomb you were observing at. Yuugi you know you are not allowed in those tombs. Why would you do this?"

"It wasn't just me in the tomb sir!" Yuugi argued. "There were two other students who talked me into showing them the tomb."

Mr. Riley sighed. "Yuugi, those boys were never seen in the tomb or coming out of it. We have no way to prove they were ever in there. According to the email, your boss on the site only saw you coming out."

Yuugi looked down at his hands in his lap, his golden bangs covering his eyes. Nothing he said would make things any better.

"Yuugi you had so much promise. If those boys had asked you to jump off a bridge would you do it?"

Yuugi rolled his eyes, which the dean didn't see. "No sir."

"I'm sorry that I have to do this, but I'm going to have to expel you. I can't let you get away with this or others will think they can too."

Yuugi quickly looked up at Mr. Riley with wide eyes. "Please! Don't do this sir!" He felt like crying, but held them back. "I have worked so hard and I don't think I deserve this. I will do anything to make this better."

Mr. Riley shook his head. "It's out of my hands Yuugi. If you wish to come back after a year, your record will be clear and you will be free to start over."

Yuugi slammed his hands down on Mr. Riley's desk. "Start over?!" Those words felt like a knife to his heart. "I was so close to getting my dream job and making my grandfather proud of me."

Mr. Riley pulled Yuugi's folder with all his paperwork out of his desk. "I'm sure your grandfather is proud of you. We will be happy to welcome you back after a year is up. My decision is finally Yuugi and it cannot be changed."

Yuugi moved his hands to his sides as he stood up. He clenched his fist and looked at the dean with pure hate. "I regret ever stepping foot in his place. I could have gone to a much better college then this dump, but I wanted to graduate from the same place my grandfather did." He turned to leave the room and as soon as he got to the door, he looked one more time back at the dean. "Don't expect me to come back after a year is up, so you might as well lose my file. I will have my dorm cleared out by the end of the day. Good day sir." The door slammed behind Yuugi as he left the dean's office.

After returning to his dorm and locking himself in it, Yuugi collapsed on his bed and finally let the tears fall. Everything he knew was falling apart. He looked at a picture of his grandfather on his nightstand. "I'm so sorry grandpa."

It was good Yuugi had a dorm to himself or he might have scared his roommate. Yuugi liked his privacy so he requested a room to himself and was lucky to get it.

"I feel as if my world has come crashing down and I have no idea what to do."

* * *

An hour after his meeting with the dean, Yuugi awoke from the tiny nap he took. He hadn't realized he fell asleep until he woke up and saw that his alarm said six o'clock. "I must have cried myself to sleep."

Sitting up in bed, Yuugi looked around his room. There wasn't much to pack so it wouldn't take Yuugi long to clear out his dorm, but the only problem he had was he didn't have any place to go. He came to the decision to not waste any more time and got up to look up some hotels.

Yuugi got his laptop out of his laptop bag that sat under his bed and started it up. Once it was up and ready to go, he started looking up hotels in Cairo. After looking up about ten hotels, Yuugi began to worry. "How am I going to afford a hotel without a job?" He asked himself.

Cairo University had offered a full ride scholarship for Yuugi to attend the school. To make some money on the side for other things, Yuugi got a small job at the campus bookstore, but after being expelled he would no longer be allowed to work there.

He checked his bank account and realized with the high prices of hotels, he would only be able to stay a couple of nights before being kicked out. Not to mention, Yuugi would need to eat.

"I need a place I can escape to, to start over." It was then Yuugi remembered the place that he found by accident.

Vampire City

Working quickly, Yuugi grabbed the phone book out of his nightstand that the University had placed in every dorm. He flipped through the names until he came to the last name Ishtar. It was only one listed so Yuugi knew that had to be the same Ishtars he learned about. He whipped out his cell phone and dialed the number listed.

It rang twice before a woman answered the phone. "_Ishtar residence, this is Ishizu Ishtar."_

Yuugi took a deep breath before speaking. "Mrs. Ishtar, my name is Yuugi Mutou and I do not want to sound crazy, but I need to know if you are the one who guards the portal in the nameless pharaoh's tomb."

There was short pause before Ishizu spoke again. "_May I ask why you are asking me this?"_

"I would like to gain citizenship and enter the Vampire city. I need to start my life over."

"_I will be happy to help you Yuugi, but I must ask how you learned about the vampire city."_

Yuugi began this short explanation about how he stumbled across the portal and meet the king.

"_Oh my, you had quite the adventure dear Yuugi. From what you have told me I would presume you live on campus at Cairo University."_

Yuugi nodded, and then realized she couldn't see it. "Yes and I've been expelled from the school. I can't afford anything else, but then I remembered what the King told me. I want to start my life over and get things back on track."

"_Yuugi if I may be honest with you. The Nameless Pharaoh's tomb is supposed to be off limits to everyone except the Ishtar family. That tomb is under government protection and no dig is supposed to be going on there."_

This news surprised Yuugi. "Are you sure? The dig has been going on for two days so far and the University approved of it."

"_I will have to have a word with the University because they have broken a very strict contract. Yuugi if you wish to stay in Cairo I can have your expulsion lifted."_

For a moment Yuugi's heart felt so much better. He would have a chance to resume his degree without starting over. It was very tempting, but then he remembered how wrongfully the University treated him. They felt the need to expel Yuugi when they weren't even supposed to be there.

"That is a very tempting offer Ms. Ishtar, but I think I will still go to vampire city."

"_Very well, I will need you to come to my house to fill out some forms. Do you have any means of transportation to get here?"_

"Yes, but Mrs. Ishtar I have a problem."

"_What is this problem? Maybe I can be of some service to you." _

Yuugi wasn't sure if he could ask Ishizu to help him with his 'no place to live until he got into vampire city' problem. "I told the dean I would be moved out of my dorm by tonight. It will not take me long to pack, but I have no place to go until I get into vampire city."

Ishizu gave a small chuckle. "_That is no problem at all. If you like I can give you a room here at my house to stay in until you get into the vampire city."_

Yuugi was about to decline the offer because he didn't want to impose, but Ishizu spoke again.

"_Before you decline as I have a feeling you will, just let me tell you that we have more than enough room. Also my home has housed plenty of people who were waiting to enter the city."_

It sounded pretty nice and Yuugi didn't want to have to spend the night in his truck. "It will not take me but an hour to pack. May I have your address?"

Ishizu gave her address to Yuugi, who quickly wrote it down. They shared a quick goodbye before hanging up. As soon as the phone call was over, he began packing all his things. Yuugi had kept all the boxes he had used to bring his stuff into his dorm when he first arrived his freshman year, just in case something happened and he ended up leaving.

The first thing he packed was all his clothes which filled two boxes. Another box he filled up with all his books and a fourth box was filled with all his sheets and pillows. The last two boxes were filled with other little items he bought with him and some things he got after coming to Cairo. Yuugi never was one for having many material items unless he really needed them.

Yuugi did a once over of the room to make sure he was not leaving anything behind. Once he was satisfied with his little clean up, he put his laptop back in its bag and grabbed both it and his backpack. He went downstairs to the parking lot to pull his truck closer to the door so it would be an easier walk back and forth. After putting his backpack and laptop bag in the passenger seat, he got in the driver seat and drove his truck around to the front.

It took Yuugi six trips to get all six boxes in the back bed of the truck, before he went back into the dorm building one last time to sign out and give the desk lady his key. The lady was surprised Yuugi was leaving, but wish him good luck with whatever he had planned.

Leaving the building, Yuugi got in his truck and never once looked back as he left the University.

* * *

It took Yuugi two hours get to Ishizu's house, which was located in a small suburb. The houses all looked alike and Yuugi had to look carefully at the numbers on the mailboxes to get the right house. Each house was a tan color with black roofs and perfectly cut green grass. After going down two streets, he found the mailbox with the numbers 7540 painted in white letters.

Yuugi pulled into the driveway behind two jeeps, which color couldn't be determined because it was dark. He parked his truck and got out. Two people were sitting on the pouch and waved to him. One was female while the other was male. The female stood up and walked down the pouch steps to greet Yuugi.

"You must be Yuugi Mutou?"

Yuugi shook the woman's hand. "Yes and you must be Ishizu Ishtar?"

Ishizu smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She was a beautiful lady with a perfectly tan and curved body that many women would die for. She had long waist length black hair pulled into a ponytail and lovely green eyes. A simple pair of blue jeans and a purple tank top made up her outfit.

Yuugi looked behind Ishizu toward the man who still stood on the pouch. He was dressed in a simple pair of dark blue jeans and a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The man had a really dark tan, green eyes, and most of his head was bald expect for the shoulder length black ponytail in the back of his head.

Ishizu turned her head to the man. "This is Rishid my older half-brother."

Rishid gave a simple bow of his head before turning and going back into the house.

Yuugi looked at Ishizu confused.

Ishizu let out a small chuckle. "Do not worry about him. He is the silent type and will not talk unless spoken to or if he has known you for a long period of time."

Yuugi smiled up at Ishizu. "For a minute I was worried I did something wrong."

"Do not fret Yuugi, for you are a guest in our house." Ishizu turned and began to walk back up the stairs to go into the house. "I will show you to your room so that you may rest for the night and then tomorrow we can get back to business."

Yuugi agreed with that. "But first I need to get my laptop and a box of clothes so that I may change."

Ishizu opened the door to her home. "Rishid will get your boxes for you. Come inside and relax. I'm sure you have done enough for the day and would like to unwind and get your thoughts together."

Yuugi followed her into her home. "That does sound tempting. Do you happen to have any tea?"

Ishizu walked pass the beautiful and spacious living room and into the open kitchen to get a kettle off the stove. "I was just making some for your arrival."

Taking a look around Yuugi found the place nice and cozy. He took a seat on one of the stools in front of the island in the middle of the kitchen. "So Ishizu, what is it you do for a living besides being a guardian?"

Ishizu placed a cup of hot tea in front of Yuugi, before getting her own cup, then joining Yuugi at the island. "I'm mostly the guardian of the portal for Cairo, but since not many people use the portal anymore, I happen to work part-time for the government along with my husband protecting the tombs in the Valley of the Kings."

"You would not happen to know why the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb is only two hours from here and not in the Valley of the Kings would you?"

Ishizu took a sip of her tea. "I happen to know the answer to that. You see Yuugi; it takes a day to travel to the Valley of the Kings. The Nameless Pharaoh's tomb was placed two hours outside of Egypt for two reasons. First reason is because it was a better location and it was easy to get to for people who wanted to enter the Vampire City. The second reason is because the Nameless Pharaoh is not dead, he happens to be the King of the Vampires. It was wise to not place his tomb in the Valley of the Kings since he was alive and it was to keep archeologists from discovering it and going into it. Unfortunately it still happened and you happen to be the one to stumble into the city illegal."

"Wow, I had no idea that the King of the Vampire City was so old and used to be a pharaoh." Yuugi looked down at his cup of tea. "I spoke with the King and he let me come back with no problem. He even gave me a choice to stay there. I wish I had just taken him up on the offer instead of returning."

Ishizu placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do not worry Yuugi, for justice will be served. The current archeologists on the dig and the University will be in trouble for breaking the contract. I'm glad a person such as yourself is willing to leave the mess behind you."

Yuugi gave her a gently smile. "Thank you Ishizu. I only hope I can start over like I want to."

Ishizu returned the smile. "I have a feeling you will be just fine."

Rishid returned from where ever he was a few minutes later and went outside to get Yuugi's boxes out of the truck. Ishizu then showed Yuugi to a guest room where he could rest for the night. "We will sort out everything in the morning and then you will be on your way to a new life."

Yuugi thanked her one last time, before closing the door to his temporary room. The room was small, but it would serve its purpose just fine. There was a twin bed in the middle of the room, its headboard pressed against the back wall with one window on the right side. On the left side of the bed was a nightstand with a lamp and on the left wall was a desk with a chair and phone. On the right wall was nothing but a door which Yuugi knew had to lead to the closet. His boxes, backpack, and laptop bag were pushed off to the side near the closet that would go unused by him.

Letting out a sigh, Yuugi began looking through the boxes marked clothes to find a pair of pajamas to slip on. He was able to find his favorite pair that was light blue with little yellow stars all over them. He had them since he was a freshman in high school and didn't have the heart to throw away perfectly good pajamas even after he grew out of his teenage years. Even when he finally settled down and had a wife and children he would probably still have them.

"Curse my never changing body." Yuugi mumbled to himself as he got ready for bed.

Once dress and ready for bed, Yuugi turned off the light to the room and parted the curtains hanging over the window to let some moonlight in. He then crawled under the clean white sheets and laid his head on his fluffy white pillow that he bought with him. "I hope I can get some sleep tonight after all that has happen."

It was no surprise that Yuugi laid awake for another good thirty minutes, before sleep finally came over him and he closed his eyes. His dreams however were very surprising because they were filled with a certain mask wearing King.

* * *

Sakura: Please do not glare, shoot, or throw anything at me. I had to get Yuugi expelled from the University so he would want to go back to Vampire City. It is all part of the story!

Yugi: I should kill you for doing that, but then again it will only get me closer to the King.

Sakura: Why do you want to be close to the King?

Yugi: The King is Yami

Sakura: I never said that

Yugi: (stares at Sakura with wide eyes)

Yumi: Review! P.S. Who thinks Yami really is the King of the Vampires?


	4. Chapter 4

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **I'm so excited for this story. It's moving along so smoothly so I might work on this one more than my others until I get the others moving again.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**LETTING GO**

I'm letting go of the past and looking forward to the future

* * *

_Moonlight streamed into the dark room from the large window behind the King's desk. Yuugi stood in a black spaghetti strap gown beside the King's chair as the King sat in his chair looking over some paper work. "You should come to bed."_

_The King held out his hand and Yuugi took it. Yuugi was gently pulled onto the King's lap and arms wrapped around his waist. "I will after I finish this one file. You should wait for me in our bedroom."_

"_What if I don't want to wait?"_

_Yuugi started to look through the file on the desk. "We are getting a new human?" He pouted when the file was closed and pushed to the side._

"_It is just some middle aged woman who has a father who lives here and wishes to see him again. She is bringing her husband and child along and they wish to become temporary resident, until they decided if they wish to permanently stay."_

_Yuugi leaned back against the King with a sigh. "Let me guess. She is a little uneasy about the fact her father lives in a city with vampires."_

_The King chuckled. "Actually the father happens to be a vampire now, because of his second wife."_

"_So him and the first wife were human, had a kid, then the first wife dies. The daughter grows up and moves out, and then the father moves here and finds his second wife who happens to be a vampire. The second wife then turns him into a vampire so that they may live forever together." _

"_That about sums it up. I was looking at the file, before you came in here and it's kind of funny. The daughter is now middle aged and her father only looks in his forties." The King explained while running a hand through Yuugi's hair._

_Yuugi purred at the touch. "That is kind of funny, but if I was the second wife I wouldn't want to watch my husband die from old age." He explained while watching the King place his black mask on the desk. _

_Lips softly gazed his neck finding all the right spots to kiss and nip at. Yuugi let out a gasp as fangs gently sunk into his neck before pulling away so that the blood could be licked away. "Your being very naughty tonight your highness."_

"_You make me this way little one." The King whispered in Yuugi's ear before gently nibbling on the lobe._

_Yuugi couldn't take no more and turned to face the King. Intending to smash their lips together in a passion filled kiss._

_

* * *

_

Yuugi sat up in bed with a start as the alarm on his cell phone went off. He always had an alarm set on his cell phone so he would get up and be on time for classes. Turns out he forgot to turn the alarm off and he ended up waking up at five in the morning. The sun wasn't even up yet. Letting out a sigh, Yuugi turned off the alarm and lay back down.

However he was finding it hard to go back to sleep with the dream he just had fresh in his mind. "That was one bizarre dream. I can't believe I dreamed of me and the King like that." He rolled over and snuggled into his pillow. Taking deep breaths, he closed his eyes and tried to force himself to fall back to sleep.

* * *

Around eight in the morning, Yuugi found himself sitting on the bed dressed in dark blue jeans and a black tank top. He was just putting on his white socks and black boots, when someone knocked on his door. "Come in…"

The person who walked in happened to be Ishizu. She was dressed in a pair of knee length blue jean shorts, a yellow tank top, and some brown boots. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail like the day before. "Good morning Yuugi. I hope you had a pleasant night."

Yuugi nodded and flashed a smile. "Yes I did. It felt good to sleep in late and relax after yesterday's events." Although some of that was true, he hated lying to her about having a good night sleep. After the dream he had, he found he couldn't get back to sleep so he stayed up just dozing on and off for three hours.

"Breakfast is ready and afterward I would like it if you joined me on a trip into town." Ishizu said with a smile. It was easy to tell she was a morning person.

Yuugi stood up from the bed and followed her out of his room and down the stairs. "If I may ask, where are we going after breakfast?" He took a seat at the kitchen island and watched as she walked over to the stove.

"My husband went down to city hall an hour ago to see about this little issue we are having with the University. He told me that as soon as you were awake, he would like me to bring you down there since you are a witness to what was going on." Ishizu stated as she sat a plate of bacon, eggs sunny side up, and chocolate chip pancakes in front of Yuugi.

Yuugi looked at her in shock. Everything on his breakfast plate was his favorite. "How did you know I like this?"

Ishizu giggled. "The truth is I make this every morning. Rishid likes chocolate chip pancakes and I like my eggs sunny side up. I also made a bowl of scrambled eggs just in case you didn't like them sunny side up."

Yuugi shook his head. "No this is perfectly fine. Do you have any coffee?"

Ishizu got Yuugi a cup of coffee before joining him at the island with her own plate.

* * *

It took two and a half hours to make it to city hall. As soon as Ishizu parked her dark green jeep in the parking lot, both her and Yuugi got out and started up the many steps that lead to the building's entrance. Once they entered the building, Yuugi made sure to stick close to Ishizu. People were walking everywhere and they weren't even watching where they were going.

They went up to the top floor and as soon as they stepped off the elevator, Yuugi found himself in a rather large waiting room where a secretary was typing away. The room had a horrible dark green carpet with gray swirls and the walls were a nasty beige color with random pictures of the outdoors. The chairs were supposed to match the room, but instead they were a dark brown with ugly flower patterns in them. On the other side of the secretary's desk was an oak door with a stain glass window and the word 'MAYOR' across it.

The secretary looked up long enough to flash them a smile, before getting back to work.

Ishizu led Yuugi over to a seat and they both sat down. Yuugi pulled out his iphone and started messing with his apps so he had something to do. He wasn't sure how long the wait would be, but at least he wouldn't be bored.

However, it wasn't but two minutes after they sat down that a tall slim male walked out of the office and approached the two of them. It was easy to tell he was native from the dark tan he supported. His dark blue eyes and serious expression gave him that look telling people he wasn't one to mess with. A few other features were his bald head that was rather smooth and the gold suds in his ears. He wore nice black dress shoes, dark blue jeans, and a navy blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and a black sleeveless vest.

Ishizu stood up from her chair and embraced the man when he was close enough. The man gave her a peck on the lips, so it was easy for Yuugi to figure out this was Ishizu's husband or at least he hoped so.

The male then turned his attention to Yuugi after Ishizu let him go. "So you must be Yuugi Mutou?" He asked in a heavy Egyptian accent. "My name is Shadi and I happen to be Ishizu's husband."

Yuugi stood up from his seat and shook the man's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Ishizu clasped her hands in front of her. "Now that introductions are finished, why don't we get this little meeting on a roll?"

Shadi shook his head and turned to his wife. "We might be here a while. I've heard word that the professors and students at the dig are refusing to leave."

Ishizu frowned at those words. "It would appear they know they are not allowed around there. What has our beloved Mayor said?"

"He had sent an email to the dean at Cairo University, but for the last two hours we have received no reply email. I fear we might have ourselves a horrible legal battle on the horizon."

Ishizu put her hands on her hips. "They will lose that fight and I will make sure of it."

"I'll still be able to leave for Vampire city later today, won't I?" asked Yuugi. He really didn't want to spend any more days than he had to in Cairo.

"Oh Yuugi," Ishizu placed an arm around Yuugi's shoulder. "I will make sure you get there as soon as possible. We will do the paper work today and I promise that tomorrow you will be walking through that portal to a new life."

Yuugi agreed to that and then focused on some of the questions Shadi asked him about what had happen at the dig.

They spent two hours in the Mayor's office getting things sorted out, before Yuugi and Ishizu were allowed to leave and head back home. In the end it seemed that a legal battle would break out, but Yuugi was lucky that he didn't have to be a part of it.

* * *

Ishizu and Yuugi had a nice lunch together at her house, before sitting down in the living room to begin paper work. Most of the information needed was basic things such as name, date of birth, education, etc…

There was also a section on the two page form for Yuugi to write why he wanted to enter the city and if he had any relatives there.

Ishizu explained to him that once he got into the city, he would talk to the King or one of his advisers on where he will be placed to live and what kind of job he might like to have.

"I can have a choice in job?" asked Yuugi. He wasn't sure what job he would want to have since he didn't finish his degree.

Ishizu nodded and she looked over his forms to make sure everything was filled out. "Oh yes, but there are a limit to what the jobs can be. As you know vampires cannot leave the city so if you happen to become one later on but have a job where you leave the city, you would have to change your job. You being a human, it wouldn't be hard for you to get a job that you wish to have, but only if it is available."

"So besides filling out these forms, what else do I need to do?"

Ishizu turned her attention to him. "Well it takes a day for the forms to be processed by the King and if he grants you entrance, which I'm sure he will, you will leave tomorrow. Your boxes will leave with you; however your truck might be a problem. I don't think we can get it down into the tomb."

Yuugi looked toward the window where he could see his truck. "I figured as much. You wouldn't mind holding on to it for me for a while. I don't even know if I want to stay permanently in the city. Something could happen and I want to come back."

"I'm sure Rishid would not mind looking after it. Just let us know if you want us to sell it. That is another thing you will get in the city. The city gives you a car that you want and the first year notes are paid for."

Yuugi lean back against the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "I swear this city sounds too good to be true."

"I promise you that once you go live there for a while, you won't want to leave. I almost didn't when I first visited the city, but I knew I should stay here and protect the portal."

Yuugi smiled at her. "That was very nice of you."

Rishid picked that moment to walk down the stairs. He approached Ishizu, who handed him the forms.

"These are ready to go to the King. If you happen to see Malik give him a hug for me."

Rishid nodded his head to Ishizu and took the papers, before leaving out the front door.

Yuugi watched him leave, before asking another question. "So is he the one who always delivers the papers?"

"Yes, I am needed here and it would pain me to see my little brother, who happens to be a vampire in the city. He is the reason I left vampire city."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happen?" Yuugi asked with curiosity.

"I do not mind at all. You see my parents guarded the portal before me. When I was twenty two and had finished college, I decided I was going to live in the vampire city. It was an interesting place to me and I couldn't stop dreaming about living there. I was already married to Shadi and he was happy with the idea so we left. My little brother Malik didn't like our parents very much because they were so strict, that he decided to go with me and live there. Things were fine at first, but then came along Marik. Before I knew it Malik was in love and hanging a lot with Marik and his friends. I was worried at first, but didn't think anything of it. Then out of the blue about two years later, I found out my brother had talked his lover into turning him into a vampire.

I was heartbroken to know my brother was forever trapped in that city. I hated Marik so much for taking my brother away from me that I packed up my things and me and Shadi left as soon as we could. I regret to this day my decision to leave, but I couldn't stand the thought of Malik never aging while I grew old. It wasn't too long after that, that my parents were killed in a cave in at the Valley of the Kings. I wrote a letter to Malik about it and he was heartbroken that he couldn't come to the funeral. We talked on the phone a lot after that and I really came to understand his decision and why he did it. Love is a funny thing and it can make people do the stupidest things, but some of those things that seem stupid at first sometimes are what lead you to your true love. To this day Malik and Marik have been happily together."

Silence took over the room as Yuugi took in all the information. He couldn't believe that so much had happen to one family in a matter of only a few years. It almost reminded him of his own horrible past. "How long ago was all this?"

Ishizu stood up and walked the short distance to the fireplace. She picked up a picture, before returning to the couch. The picture showed a younger looking Ishizu standing in front of their home with a younger looking Rishid to her left and a younger looking Shadi to her right. A teenage boy stood in front of her with Ishizu's arms around his shoulders. The teen was a head shorter than Ishizu with shoulder length platinum blond hair and purple eyes.

Ishizu smiled fondly at the picture. "This was taken the day before we left. Malik was only nineteen years old. I'm currently thirty four now and he would be thirty one this year, but he will forever stay the simple age of twenty one."

"Ten years has passed since the last time you have seen each other?"

"We may not have seen each other in ten years, but we manage to stay in touch every week by a phone call. Rishid makes room in his schedule to visit vampire city once a month and sometimes more than that if we get someone wanting to enter the city." Ishizu explained while setting the photo on the coffee table.

"Why did Rishid not go to vampire city with you? I can see by the picture that he was around at the time."

Ishizu's face took on a look of sadness. "Rishid was abandoned as a baby on my parent's doorstep. My mother tried her hardest to find his parents, but it seemed they did not exist. My father was against taking in Rishid at first, but decided to in the end, because it looked like my mother could not have children. Then four years later I was born, and then my brother came along. Rishid was always such a good child even if my father never gave him the time of day. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you Rishid was a mama's boy and refused to leave her when we left for the city."

Yuugi smiled. "I'm sure you are all happy to have each other."

"I owe a lot to Rishid," Ishizu explained. "If it was not for him, I would not have met my husband."

Yuugi reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "I would have loved to have siblings like you."

"You're an only child?"

Yuugi nodded and dropped his hand from her shoulder. He placed both in his lap and just stared at them. "My parents died before they could even think of having another child. I was only one when they were killed in a plane crash."

It was Ishizu's turn to place her hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could say I understood, but sadly I cannot."

Yuugi let out a bitter laugh. "It's funny. You are the first person to say that. Most people say they understand, but I know they don't. I never even got the chance to really know my parents." He blinked back a few tears that wanted to fall. It would always hurt for some reason to talk about his family, but Ishizu had opened up to him and it would not hurt for him to open up to her. "I was raised by my grandfather for most of my life, until he died five months after I started college. I almost wanted to give up college and run his game shop, but I knew he would not want that. I handed the shop over to my best friend's boyfriend, because I knew he would take good care of it."

"I'm sure he would be proud of you," replied Ishizu, before asking a question that bugged her. "Why do you not go back home and run his shop now?"

Yuugi looked up at Ishizu with sadness in his eyes. "I do not think I could handle running the shop just yet. I was hoping to get my degree and travel the world for a while, before settling down. I think I need this break away from everything before I return to Domino. I want to be able to run it with as much passion as my grandfather put into building it."

There was a brief moment of silence, before the front door opened and Shadi walked in.

"Honey, I'm starving!"

Ishizu could not help but laugh at her husband. "Alright I'll get to work on it." She stood up and left for the kitchen.

Yuugi let another smile touch his face, before he decided to retire to his room for an afternoon nap.

* * *

**8:00 a.m. **

Yuugi quite literally rolled out of bed the next morning when his cell phone alarm went off. He grumbled about his stupid dream about the King again as he picked himself up off the floor. "I'm beginning to wonder if I should even go to the city with these idiotic dreams in my head."

He had no idea if he would be able to see the King without thinking of the dreams. This certain dream had been a little more graphic than the last and it was beginning to scare Yuugi. "It's like I'm back in high school with a crush. The strange thing about the dreams is I'm never allowed to see his real face." He mumbled to himself as he began to get dressed for the day.

The outfit he picked out was a pair of dark blue jeans with holes in the knees, a gray t-shirt and a black vest. He slipped on his favorite old white sneakers, before making sure everything of his was still safely packed away. Today was the day he would find out if he was getting admitted into the Vampire city and he wanted to be ready.

Ishizu came knocking on the door five minutes later. She walked in when Yuugi told her she could come in. Today she was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a pink tank-top with her same brown boots. "I have good news for you."

Yuugi put his full attention on her. "Is it the news I would like to hear?"

Ishizu grin and nodded her head. "Shadi already left this morning to go to work, but Rishid is downstairs waiting on us so we may take you to the portal."

"When did you learn I could go?" Yuugi could not help but ask. He did not remember any late night mail coming or any phone calls.

Ishizu held up an official looking letter with a wax seal broken on the back. "I found this on the kitchen table this morning at seven when I went down to make our breakfast. It came via vampire mail."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What in the world is Vampire mail?"

Ishizu giggled at the look on Yuugi's face. "It is the quickest way to get mail besides the Internet. Some vampires can teleport items from one place to another. It comes in handy because vampires cannot leave the city and the regular mail is too slow. It is a simple thing for vampires so they can communicate with the outside world. Although it's really only used by the King so that he may send these letters to the guardians."

Yuugi took the letter when Ishizu handed it to him. He read over the letter himself and was please to know that this was the real thing and he was leaving first thing. "I think I could get used to vampire mail."

Ishizu began to help Yuugi carry his boxes downstairs. "It will be one of the many things you will have to get used to." She replied with a small chuckle.

It took no time for all of Yuugi's boxes to make it out into the back of the jeep and once everyone was ready, Rishid began the short drive toward the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb.

Yuugi took one last look behind him at everything he was leaving behind and smiled. Things were going to change for the better and he knew it.

* * *

Sakura: I'm sure some of you did not like the little question at the end of the last chapter, but it was to see who was paying attention. I promise no more surprise questions and also as I have already told most of my readers Yami and Atemu will be the same person in this story.

Yugi: So Yami is the King?

Sakura: I told some of my readers it was, but everyone will just have to wait and see for themselves in the next chapter!

Yugi: You are so mean!

Yumi: We would like some more lovely reviews! P.S. Next chapter Yuugi will finally enter the city and possible meet the love of his life!


	5. Chapter 5

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **Talk about reviews! The reviews have double in size since I started this story! I have decided to dedicate this chapter to all my readers!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**VAMPIRE CITY**

My new life has begun

**

* * *

**

There was no change at all at the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb. Tents still littered the area and workers were hanging out in groups talking. It made Yugi's blood boil at how heartless they could be about someone's tomb when they were not supposed to be there. '_Even if I know the Nameless Pharaoh is not dead.' _Yuugi thought.

Rishid worked his way through the tents and people, before parking the jeep right at the entrance. All three got out and were greeted by the boss that took Yuugi to the dean.

"What is your business here?" The boss all but demanded.

Ishizu gave the boss such a hard glare that Yuugi was almost afraid of her. "I have every right to be here. This tomb is government property and under the protection of the Ishtar family." She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it to show the man. "Under Cairo law you are trespassing and if you haven't already heard from your dean, your university is being sued for destroying personal property with knowledge that it does not belong to the university."

The boss looked at the piece of paper and growled.

Yuugi grin when he realized the boss was in on it too. '_Oh I know how to get a little revenge.'_ Yuugi thought. "Ishizu, this happens to be the very man, who took me to the dean to get expelled." He said with a smile.

Ishizu looked down at Yuugi, before looking back at the boss. "Oh really, then I said we can add a personal charge to you for being in on this affair." She said sweetly.

The boss looked modified. "You have no right," he nearly shouted.

Ishizu placed her hands on her hips and looked very confident. "I have very much the right. I think it would be wise you step aside and let us do our business unless you want more charges bought on to you. I do not think you would like the idea of losing your job."

Without another word the boss turned and walked away, mumbled to himself the whole way to his tent.

Yuugi had the look on victory on his face as he started to help Rishid get his boxes out of jeep and down into the tomb. The tomb was void of any people so it only took two trips with the three of them to get all six boxes to the portal. With light in the tomb from the torches, Yuugi was surprised he ever missed the portal. The bricks at the dead end where the portal was located were made of pure gold and shined brightly in the light.

Rishid gently pushed the boxes one by one through the portal and once he was done turned his attention to Ishizu. "Is there anything else?"

Ishizu shook her head. "No, I believe that is all."

Yuugi turned his attention to Ishizu. "How will you keep the workers from going through the portal? I'm sure they have noticed these bricks are different from the rest of the tomb."

"The portal has actual been shut down temporary from after you made your phone call to me until about an hour ago. I contracted the King right before you arrived at my house and told him all that had been going on. He was worried that more people would try and enter the city without citizenship so he got his guardian to shut down the portal." Ishizu looked Yuugi right in the eyes. "After you enter this portal, the portal will shut down again until after this mess is worked out. If you ever for any reason need to leave vampire city, go to the King and see about using another portal until this one is back up and running."

Yuugi kept that information in mind and hugged Ishizu out of the blue. "Thank you for everything."

A little surprised by the hug, Ishizu took a minute to hug back. "You are quite welcome Yuugi. I know you have a bright future ahead of you."

They broke away and Yuugi shook hands with Rishid. "We may have not spoken much, but it was a pleasure to meet you."

Rishid offered Yuugi a smile. "Good luck Yuugi."

With no other words needing to be said, Yuugi bid them one finally goodbye and stepped through the portal. His new life had just begun.

* * *

Amethyst eyes opened to find the familiar room filled with portals. Chloe was sitting behind her desk with a smile on her face. Only one cream color folder sat in front of her with Yuugi's picture paper clipped to it. Taylor stood beside her with Yuugi's boxes on a hotel luggage cart.

Yuugi approached the desk and greeted the two. "I'm sure you two didn't expect me back so soon."

Taylor let out a chuckle. "I knew you couldn't stay away for long. Vampire City is like paradise to most humans."

Chloe shook her head at the two, before handing Yuugi his folder. "You will find all your citizenship papers inside and the King will set you up with everything you will need to make a living here."

"We should be going Yuugi," Taylor said as he started to push the cart toward elevators.

Yuugi nodded and followed Taylor onto one of the elevators. Chloe gave Yuugi a thumb up before the doors closed and traveled upward into the post office back room.

* * *

Just like last time it only took thirty minutes to get to the castle, but instead of traveling by motorcycle Taylor had bought a ford pickup truck so they could travel with Yuugi's personal belongings. In Yuugi's eyes the castle was even more beautiful than last time. It seemed to shine in the afternoon light.

"I have to ask this," Yuugi spoke up breaking the silence. "Does your family actually live here?"

Taylor, who had been busy monitoring the servants taking in Yuugi's belongings, turned to address Yuugi's question. "You could say that…but sometimes we like to venture out. Our father is very relaxed when it comes to his children."

"How many children does he have?"

"Including me my father has six children. All boys and one little girl, who happens to be the youngest of the bunch" Taylor replied, before his attention was pulled away to a butler who had approached them.

"Young master, where are these boxes to be placed?" He asked in a very polite tone and with a bow. Yuugi took note that he was dressed like most butlers would be which was in a pressed clean black suit with a white button up shirt.

Taylor cleared his throat and politely answered the man. "Henry, make sure these boxes make it to the guest room in the west wing across from my father's room."

Yuugi watched as the butler bowed again to Taylor before hurrying off to do the job placed upon him. He then turned to Taylor with a confused look. "I assume I am staying in guest room until I get a place of my own."

"I'm just as confused as you are Yuugi. Normally my father is able to get the person or family a place of their own right away. You happen to be the first human to stay in the castle overnight." Taylor explained while leading Yuugi toward his father's office.

This piece of information confused Yuugi even more. Why would the King want him to stay overnight?

* * *

Upon arriving at the office, Taylor opened the door and ushered Yuugi in. Yuugi took in the look of the office quickly and noticed nothing had changed. The only difference this time around was that there were more people in the room than before.

Ethan was sitting on the couch reading a book with a bored look on his face. He was dressed like Taylor was in a pair of tan shorts and a dark blue t-shirt expect Taylor's t-shirt was a dark green. A young girl maybe six or seven sat beside Ethan playing with a teddy bear. She had light tan skin, shoulder length wavy brown hair and adorable hazel eyes that bought out her beautiful smile. Her outfit was a cute little knee length pink dress without sleeves and a white collar.

A little boy who appeared to be nine or ten lay in front of the desk on his stomach coloring in a coloring book. He had curly light blond and dark brown eyes that really bought out his rather pale complexion. His outfit was a pair of tan pants with a white button up shirt and a brown vest.

The King was behind his desk typing something on a laptop and he still looked the same. The only different to his appearance was his outfit, which was changed to a black suit with a black button up shirt and dark crimson neck-tie. He still wore the black mask to hide his face and it still gave Yuugi this nervous feeling in his stomach. Behind the King near the window stood a teen a good few inches taller than Taylor and Ethan and he looked to be about seventeen. He had long black hair that fell down to his waist and coal colored eyes. His outfit was a pair of black pants with a gray belt and a long sleeve turtle-neck shirt.

Taylor cleared his throat and then all eyes were on him and Yuugi. The King calmly closed his laptop and stood up. Moving around his desk, the King made his way toward Yuugi and Taylor. It was then that Yuugi noticed that everyone was bare-footed; expect the King who was wearing black dress shoes.

The King put out his hand for Yuugi to shake, which Yuugi did. "Welcome to Vampire City, Yuugi Mutou. I hope your trip here was better than the last time."

Yuugi forced himself to look up at the King's mask covered face. "Thank you, your highness. It was better than last time and I am looking forward to living here."

"Now that you are a citizen here I believe it is time I formally introduce myself." The King said before giving a light bow. "I am King Yami Atemu the ruler of Vampire City."

Yuugi did his own bow in return. "It is a pleasure to meet you formally your majesty. My name is Yuugi Mutou."

King Yami gently took Yuugi's hand in his and led him to a seat that was in front of his desk. "I'm sure you are aware that we need to discuss a few minor details before you will be release into our fair city."

"Yes sir," Yuugi replied. He made sure to sit up straight and listen to every word said so that he could get settle into the city as soon as possible.

However, before the King could even begin to speak again, the doors to the office burst open and a teen around the age of fifteen or sixteen hurried in. He had a tan complexion much like the King but not as dark. Shoulder length black hair framed his face while gentle dark green eyes stared at everyone in the room. His outfit was a simple pair of black cargo shorts which were dripping wet.

"I'm so sorry I'm late father." The teen panted as he tried to catch his breath. "I just looked at the clock and realized the time…"

Ethan and Taylor busted out laughing, yet Yami didn't find it funny the least bit.

"Jason, why am I not surprised you would be late." It was more of a statement then a question.

Jason straightened himself up and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

Yami sternly pointed toward the couch. "Have a seat over by your sister and keep quiet."

The little girl jumped up off the couch and ran over to Jason. She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him over to the couch, where they both took a seat, which caused Ethan to get up because Jason was still wet. Ethan walked over beside Taylor, who still stood near the double doors.

Yami cleared his throat and Yuugi's attention was back on the King. "I think it's time we get down to business." He pulled a map out of his desk and laid it out for Yuugi to see. It was a layout of the entire city. "The first order of business will be to decide where you would like to live. There are three main living areas that are divided into groups. We have the east side living area which is only for vampires, the west side which is only for humans, and lastly the south side which is a mix of vampires and humans. It's obvious you will not be living in the east side, however, you may choose to live in the west or south."

Yuugi weighted the choices in his mind. The west side did sound like a better opinion, but then again Yuugi was coming to the city for a change. The only down side for the south was it had vampires in it and Yuugi wasn't sure how he would feel if his neighbors were vampires.

Yami could see Yuugi was deep in thought, but he decided to give him some help. "The vampires in this city are all well tamed, the reason we have the east and west side living areas is because of the differences we have. Some people feel more comfortable living in an area that is surrounded by their own kind. The big main reason for majority of the vampires living in the east is because the sun sets in the west and it gets dark quickly in the east for the vampires who are sensitive to light."

"So I'm guessing not all vampires are sensitive to light?" Yuugi asked and received a nod from Yami.

It took Yuugi a minute to decide after hearing this information. "As much as I would like to explore new surroundings, I believe I would feel more comfortable living in the west side. I have never been around vampires before and I am not sure how well I will adjust being around them."

"I'm sure you would adjust greatly after hanging around Taylor." Ethan added in which got him a glare from Taylor.

"Learn to keep your mouth shut Ethan. I'm not a terrible vampire."

Before Ethan could say something back, Yami chucked a stapler at them. Both boys ducked in time and looked at the hole in the wall the stapler made.

"Boys! We have a guest in this building and I would like it if we could go without the fighting!" Yami shouted at them, which made everyone in the room flinch.

Yuugi tried to pretend to be interested in the map of the city so he wouldn't have to look up at the King. He may not have been able to see the Yami's face, but he was sure the King was mad.

Yami took a deep breath to calm his nerves and returned his attention toward Yuugi. "Now that we have picked the area, which do you prefer? A house or apartment?"

"I would like to see about a house. The dorms at my college weren't the best and I would like more living space then most apartments offer." Yuugi was surprised he was able to say that without stuttering.

The next few minutes were spent helping Yuugi pick out a house he would like to move into to and after that the topic of a job came up.

"We have a large list of open jobs to pick from, but what do you think you could see yourself doing?" Yami asked him while also showing him a list of jobs available.

Yuugi looked at the list, but he wasn't quite sure. He always pictured himself being an archeologist. "Your highness, if I may get off topic for a moment, but do you happen to have any colleges around here?"

Yami let out a sigh before folding his hands on top of his desk. "I wish I could say we do, but we don't have any colleges for humans. We have established two colleges for vampires, but that is only because they cannot leave this city to go to the colleges offered everywhere else."

Yuugi looked down at his hands for a moment in deep thought before he looked up at Yami with a smile. "That is quite alright. I do wish I could continue my studies, but I did come here for a change. Do you happen to have any jobs that deal with small businesses? My grandfather used to own small town game shop and I as a teenager got to run it myself a few times."

Taylor walked up to the desk at that moment. "Father, if I may speak for a moment?"

Yami waved his hand telling his son he could speak.

"I think Yuugi would be perfect to run our small antique shop. You know me, Ethan, Jason, and Jiro hate having to look after that shop and you never have the time. Plus you said you couldn't trust just anyone with the shop. Why not give Yuugi a try at it?"

Yami placed his left hand under his chin and sat there quietly for a minute.

Yuugi looked up at Taylor with a questioning look, but Taylor just smiled at him.

"The shop might be looked after better if I did hire someone else to take care of it." Yami laid his hand back on the table and addressed Yuugi. "Would you like to give it a try?"

Yuugi nodded his head. He was willing to give any job a try and working an antique shop seemed better than a fast food restaurant job. "I am willing to give it a try if you will let me."

Yami took the map and job list off his desk and shoved them in a draw. "We will look into it tomorrow, but for right now I think I have most of the things I need to get you settled in. Once you are settled into your new home, I will have Taylor take you car shopping so that you may get around the city easier."

Yami and Yuugi both rose from their seats and shook hands.

"Will I be allowed to move into my new home today or tomorrow?" Yuugi asked. He really wanted to get into his new home soon.

Yami patted Yuugi on the shoulder. "We will get you into your house tomorrow morning, but today I would like children to give you a tour of the city."

All six children in the room quickly lined up in a row near the door as Yuugi and Yami approached them. Yami pointed to Taylor and Ethan who were the first two in the row. "As you know these two are Taylor and Ethan, they are my oldest boys both three hundred and nineteen."

Taylor and Ethan grinned and waved at Yuugi. Yuugi was a little shocked to hear they were over three hundred years old.

"Next we have Jiro and he is the second oldest. He is two hundred and seventeen."

Yuugi felt a shiver run down his spine when he looked up at Jiro. He was the one who was standing behind Yami's desk near the window. His coal black eyes gave Yuugi the creeps.

"Third we have Jason and he is the third oldest. He is two hundred and fifteen."

Jason politely bowed and said, "It's nice to meet you."

"The last two are Kotaro and Chan. Kotaro is the boy and he is one hundred and ten making him the fourth oldest. Chan is the girl and she is one hundred and six making her the youngest of the six children."

Kotaro and Chan both walked up to Yuugi and gave him a hug. It surprised Yuugi, but he returned the hug anyway.

Chan looked toward her father. "Can Yuugi be my mommy?"

All eyes turned to Chan in disbelief. Yami walked up to Chan and carefully picked her up. "I'm sorry Chan, but Yuugi is not your mommy. He is just coming to live in the city."

Yuugi couldn't stand the heartbroken look on Chan's face. "Where is your real mommy Chan?"

The children all tensed up at the question and avoided looking at Yuugi.

Yuugi could feel the tension in the air and thought maybe it wasn't wise to ask that. "Did I say something wrong?"

Yami placed Chan on the ground and shook his head. "You said nothing wrong Yuugi. It's just all my children were adopted. I'm not their real father. I've also never been married, so they don't have a mother figure in their lives as of now."

Taylor took that moment to pick Chan up and place her on his shoulders. "I think that is enough chatter for today. Father if you will excuse us, I believe it's time we take Yuugi into town to show him around."

"You are right my son." Yami agreed with Taylor before he started ushering everyone out of his office. "Enjoy your tour of the town Yuugi."

After those words were said, Yami shut the doors to his office and everyone else was left standing in the hallway.

* * *

Six hours of the day were spent with the children showing Yuugi around the town. One of those hours was spent at a restaurant the children loved called 'Night Bite' for a lunch break it was one of the few restaurants that served both vampire and human food in the same place. That hour gave Yuugi a chance to get to know the King's children and let the children get to know him. They were well rounded children, but then again Yuugi had to remember that these children were hundreds of years older than him and had years to mature.

All in all Yuugi had a wonderful day and by the time they got back to the castle around five it was time for dinner. Jiro decided to have dinner in his room and skipped out going to the dining hall with them.

The dining hall was impressive in Yuugi's eyes with its beautiful high ceiling and red velvet curtains all around. It held a long table in the middle of the room big enough to fit about thirty people or more. There was one chair that caught Yuugi's attention and it was at the head of the table. The chair was more like a large Egyptian throne made from pure gold and a red cushion placed on the seat.

Taylor and Ethan sat on the right side of the large throne with Jason next to them. Kotaro and Chan sat on the left side one chair down from the throne which was left for Yuugi to sit at.

Yuugi kept his eyes on the huge chair. "Would this be the King's seat?"

Taylor grinned at him. "Right on the mark. Though I'm not sure if he will be joining us tonight."

"Who would normal sit where I am?"

"No one," Ethan replied to Yuugi's question. "Back in ancient times when pharaoh's ruled, the left seat next to the pharaoh was reserved for the queen or the pharaoh's lover only."

"Oh I had no idea," Yuugi made to get up. "Why didn't someone say so before I wouldn't have sat here?"

Kotaro put his hand on Yuugi's arm. "You can sit there. That was back in ancient times and I'm sure our father wouldn't mind."

"I'm sure dad would enjoy Yuugi sitting there." Ethan whispered to his Taylor, which caused Taylor to let out a small chuckle.

Yuugi sat back down and looked at them one eyebrow raised. "What are you two talking about?"

Ethan and Taylor grinned. "Nothing," they said that the same time.

Jason rolled his eyes. "I bet you two are thinking of a new prank. Who are you after this time?"

"We said it was nothing, so butt out Jason." Taylor and Ethan again said at the same time with a slight glare toward their brother.

Before Jason could say something back, a girl dressed in an old French maid outfit came over with a notepad in her hand. She had tan skin, dark crimson eyes, and chin length bright red hair. With a glare at everyone at the table she said with a slight Egyptian accent. "What can I get for you all?"

Taylor, Ethan, and Jason busted out laughing.

Yuugi looked from the three laughing teens toward the woman. He didn't see what was so funny.

The girl sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Alright laugh it up." She said with sarcasm.

It took the three boys a few minutes to calm down and when they did, Ethan asked while wiping a tear from his right eye. "Who did you lose a bet with this time Yumi?"

Yumi flipped him off with the finger. "Sakura…"

That was all the boys needed to know, before they started laughing again.

Chan got up from her seat and ran around the table to get to Yumi. She hugged Yumi around the legs and smiled up at her. "I think you look pretty Yumi."

Yumi sighed and picked the permanent six year old up. "Thank you Chan and what would you like to eat?"

Chan giggled. "Chicken fingers please!"

"Make that two orders of chicken fingers," Kotaro added in.

The boys calmed down again and politely gave their orders. Taylor and Ethan ordered steaks medium rare while Jason settled on grilled chicken.

Yumi turned her attention to Yuugi. "You want anything?"

Yuugi thought of the first thing that came to his mind and ordered a hamburger.

After the orders were written down, Yumi hurried back off into the kitchen.

"Who was that?" Yuugi couldn't help but ask.

"That was Yumi," Jason replied. "She is our father's half sister. Different mothers but the same father."

Taylor chuckled again since he couldn't get the image of Yumi in that dress out of his head. "She is technically our aunt, but we just call her Yumi. Sakura is her troublesome wife, who is always making bets with her because Yumi always loses."

"Oh…" Yuugi sat in his seat quietly after that until the food arrived and everyone started eating.

Yuugi still couldn't get over the fact that some vampires could eat human food, but the three boys in front of him had explained at lunch earlier that not all vampires were alike. There were small groups of vampires who were different from the rest, kind of like different species of animals.

As they ate their food it was rather quiet, so Yuugi decided to ask a question that had been bugging him all day. "I don't mean to pry into your personal lives, but I remember Yami saying that you were all adopted. Were you already vampires before he adopted any of you?"

Taylor stopped mid bite and sat his fork back down. "We were all human before we met our father. Each of us has our own story to tell and some of them are rather unpleasant. Ethan here had cancer really bad for a year and our real parents wanted him to have the best care so we came to vampire city when Ethan and I were nineteen. Doctors here couldn't even save him and told us he may only live about two months. Yami already knew our story from when we applied for citizenship and he wasn't surprised when I came running to him for help. Many didn't know why I was so desperate to save Ethan and some passed it off as twin love."

"So you two really are twins?"

"Sure are," Ethan answered for Taylor. "We also happen to be lovers. Sometime in the beginning of our teen years we developed feelings for each other and it was more than brotherly love. It was looked down on so much in our time that Taylor and I feared for our lives and couldn't really trust anyone."

"I decided to trust Yami," Taylor continued. "I knew that he could save Ethan so I went to him begging for him to change Ethan into a vampire to save him. Yami was unsure at first, but I told him I couldn't live without Ethan and he didn't deserve to die like this. My parents were furious with me when they found out I wanted Yami to turn Ethan into a vampire. They wanted to save him too, but they didn't want him to become a vampire. It was at that moment that I told my parents the truth about mine and Ethan's secret love affair so they would just leave us alone."

Ethan bowed his head a little and looked slightly upset. "They yelled and screamed at us that our relationship was sick and wrong. It was even worst then normal gay relationships, because we were brothers. Yami was there at the time so my parents didn't even dare try anything to hurt us. I knew they would have wanted us dead for sure after finding out the truth."

Taylor placed a hand on his brother/lover's shoulder. "Yami talked them into leaving quietly and leaving us alone for good since it appeared they didn't approve of our relationship. They did leave us alone and ended up leaving the city all together to get away from us."

"So Yami saved Ethan from dying by turning him into a vampire and I'm guessing you talked him into turning you into a vampire too?" Yuugi asked Taylor.

Taylor nodded and turned to look at Jason. "Are you going to tell him your story?"

"It couldn't hurt," Jason turned to his attention to Yuugi. "Ever since I could remember my parents always fought, most of the time it was about me because they never wanted a baby and I was known as the mistake. My parents were teenagers and still in high school when they had me. My so called father ran when he found out my mom was pregnant, but later came back because he didn't want to pay child support. Every day they would fine something to argue about just so they could fight. I lost count at how many times my parents cheated on each other just to try and make the other jealous. One time my father came home drunk and beat my mother. She ran off to her father and told him. My grandfather was a cop and was going to arrest him, but thought of a better punishment. He had found out from his buddy about this city and decided to send all of us here. There are very strict rules here about abuse and if you so much as hurt another you can be put to death. I believe my grandfather really liked that, so when we got here my father found out about the rules and straighten up a little. Unfortunately after years of living here, my father finally snapped one day when he found my mother in bed with a male vampire. My father may not have stood a chance against a vampire, but he sure tried to kill them both. The vampire got away because he didn't want to kill my father and get killed by the King for murder. My mother wasn't so lucky because next thing I know my father pulled a gun and shot her in the head."

Jason bowed his head as he thought of his real mother. "I was sixteen at the time and since I had witnessed it my father decided he needed to take me out too. He shot at me and hit me in the stomach. Despite the critical condition I was in, I was able to get away and get to my neighbors house. They also happened to be vampires, so I knew I was safe. They got in contact with the King then took me to the nearest hospital."

"I remember that day because our father was furious when he got the call." Taylor added in. "He went to go check out the scene personally while Ethan and I went to the hospital to see Jason. We all later found out from our father that Jason's real father committed suicide after Jason ran off, because he didn't want to have to deal with the consequences of his actions."

Jason then took the story back over. "I was wounded so badly that the doctors knew they couldn't save me, so without giving me a choice the King broke his own rule and changed me. When I came to in the hospital the King explained his actions and told me it would have been wrong for him to let me die at such a young age. To this day I never once regret Yami changing me and never have I tried to get him in trouble for it. Some doctors tried to get Yami in trouble, but I told them that I wanted to be changed." He smiled to himself. "Yami has been the best father I could ever ask for."

Yuugi looked toward Kotaro and Chan, who were enjoying their meal and had their own conversation going. "And what about them?" He asked referring to Kotaro and Chan.

"Kotaro's parents applied for citizenship and their profile read that they were looking for a better life for their ten year old son, so Yami granted them citizenship." Taylor explained. "However when they came here they abandoned Kotaro on the palace door steps before running from the city. All of us couldn't believe what just happened, so Yami got a human to go and try and find the parents to understand why they just abandoned their son. I took Kotaro to a doctor to get him check out because he looked really thin and looked about ready to collapse."

Ethan placed a hand on Taylor's shoulder since he knew the next part was hard for Taylor to speak about and finished Kotaro's story. "The doctors said that Kotaro was malnutrition and had been for years. You could easily see his ribs, but that wasn't the half of it. There was signs that Kotaro had been sexual assaulted and we had figured it was either his parents who were assaulting him or someone else. Kotaro wouldn't tell us so we let it go."

Taylor had his fist clenched on the table. "Kotaro was so badly malnutrition that his muscle tissue was starting to break down to give his body food. Doctors told us his heart wouldn't last and if they tried to replace his heart in his condition it would kill him."

"Kotaro was such a sweet boy to have to go through all that, so I gave him the opinion to become one of us and let me be his father." A new voice said.

They all looked to see Yami making his way toward the table. "I was wondering where you all were, but then Yumi told me when she bought me my food that you all were here." He took his spot at the head of the table. "So you were telling Yuugi about Kotaro's life?"

"Sir…" All eyes turned to Yuugi. "If they weren't suppose to talk about it, then it's my fault I was just wondering how they all became vampires."

Yami chuckled. "It's quite alright Yuugi. It is the childrens stories to tell, so I have no say in if they want to tell you or not."

"Why don't you finish the story dad?" Jason suggested.

Yami agreed and continued the story. "Kotaro told me he wanted to live and be my son, so I changed him. I believe that about sums up that story."

"What about Kotaro's parents?" Yuugi asked.

Yami sighed and rested his arms on the table. "I found out from my human spy that Kotaro's parents were drug addicts and ever since Kotaro was five they sold him to strangers for drug money. When Kotaro got sick, they decided to come here and abandon him here for a better life. I don't think I will ever understand how they could hurt their son so much, but he is healthy now and his been a joy to have as a son."

"What about me?" Taylor asked while putting on a smile.

"Taylor, drop it before I hit you." Yami replied in a stern voice.

Taylor sat back in his seat and pouted, while Ethan and Jason chuckled at him.

Yuugi smiled at the little family moment before addressing Yami again. "What about Jiro and Chan? Those two I haven't heard about yet."

Yami stayed quiet for a few minutes and Yuugi was unsure if Yami would tell him anything. It was hard to read the King's face while he wore a mask. But he just let out another sigh before speaking. "Jiro becoming a vampire was simple. A vampire went crazy in our city and ended up killing about twenty people including Jiro's family. I got there to stop the vampire and found him feeding from Jiro. This certain vampire had the ability to change people by his bite. Since I interrupted the vampire, the venom started to run its course through Jiro's body causing him lots of pain. After I killed this rouge vampire, I hurried to Jiro's side and asked him what he wanted me to do. He told me he didn't want to die, so I made him drink my blood to make the transformation quicker and less painful. Vampire's who change people by bite have his horrible venom in them that causes the transformation to take longer and causes heart wrenching pain to course through the body."

Yuugi shivered at the thought of what all Jiro had to go through. "I couldn't image going through so much pain just to become a vampire."

Yami shrugged. "A good amount of humans do it to be with the one they truly love. I can only change people by letting them drink my blood. But once a vampire bites or lets a human drink their blood, the human is bonded to that vampire. It's not like you have to follow their orders or anything, but you will always feel this connection to that vampire."

"Like our connection to Yami is that of a son to father or daughter to father," Ethan explained.

Yuugi nodded his head in understanding then looked toward Chan. "What made you change Chan?"

Yami looked toward his daughter also. "Her mother got citizenship into the city and then came straight to me looking for my help. Her daughter was dying of Leukemia at the small age of six. She wanted me to change her into a vampire so that she could live a healthy life. I tried to talk her out of it, because Chan would permanently remain six, but Chan's mother was determined to save her daughter. I didn't want her going to some random vampire looking for help, so I agreed to change Chan. After I did want the mother wanted she told me to take good care of Chan and said she would be leaving."

Chan looked up at that moment and Yami felt like he could have melted on the spot. "I asked her why she was leaving Chan with me, but she told me that she couldn't bare the thought of her daughter being a monster."

Yuugi felt like tears were going to run down his face. "So she just abandoned Chan after you saved her." It was more of a statement than a question.

Yami reached out and patted Yuugi's shoulder. "Do not become upset over it. All of it is in the past and all my children are well taken care of."

Taylor rolled his eyes. "If you say threatening to hit me all the time being well taken care of, then yes we are."

Yami really did hit him on the head. "I wouldn't threaten you if you would act right in front of guest."

Taylor rubbed his sore head and turned to Ethan. "Honey, he hit me!"

Ethan stuck out his tongue. "You deserved it."

Everyone started to laugh at the table expect Taylor who continued to pout.

* * *

No one left the dining room until eight that night because everyone was having so much fun and Yuugi enjoyed telling them stories about the world outside of the city.

Yami was the one who decided to escort Yuugi to his room, while all the other kids ran off to bed.

They walked in silence until Yami stopped in front of a door. "This will be your room for the night. I hope it will be to your liking. If you need anything I am in the room right across the hall." He gently lifted Yuugi's hand and placed the back of it where his mouth would be if not for the mask.

Yuugi blushed heavily when he realized Yami had just kissed his hand even if they mask was in the way.

Yami released his hand and brushed a stray bang behind Yuugi's ear. "It was a pleasure to meet you Yuugi Mutou." He then turned on his heels and walked across the hall to his room.

Once Yuugi was sure the King was in his room, Yuugi quickly went into his and lead against the door. His heart was racing so fast Yuugi feared it would come out of his chest.

'_I can't believe he just did that.'_ Happen to be the last thought on Yuugi's mind before he busied himself with getting ready for bed.

* * *

Yugi: Wow I think that is the longest chapter for this story yet.

Sakura: Well don't get use to long chapters. I only did this to let my readers get to know the children a little bit more and kind of make up for not updating this for the longest time.

Yumi: I'll kill you! A French maid outfit!

Sakura: I would watch it Yumi before I decide to dress you up as a pink bunny. Now get to work…

Yumi: (growls at Sakura before getting to work) Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Small Note**

**Sakura:** Thanks for all the reviews! Five chapters and I already have 100 reviews.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**New House and New Job**

Time to Move in

* * *

Sunlight streamed in through the window waking Yuugi from his slumber in his warm comfortable bed. He let out a sigh and laid there staring at the white canopy of the bed. The silk sheets felt good under his skin and he really did not want to get up. However Yuugi had no idea when breakfast would be served and he was rather hungry.

The door to the room opened and Yuugi sat up to see Chan walk into the room. She ran over to the bed and jumped on it.

"Good Morning Yuugi!"She exclaimed. It was easy to tell she was a morning person. The little girl was already dressed in her clothes for the day which was a pair of jean shorts and a blue t-shirt with a white rabbit on it.

Yuugi ruffled the girl's hair and bid her a good morning. "Good morning Chan, what are you doing in here?" He asked curious as to why she came to wake him.

Chan flashed a beautiful smile his way. "I asked daddy if I could come get you for breakfast. It's going to be served in thirty minutes. You can't miss such an important meal."

Yuugi picked up his cell phone off the night stand and noticed it was eight in the morning. He would have loved to sleep in, but there were still many things to do before he could get settled in the city. "I need a shower and my clothes changed and then I will be right down for breakfast."

"I'll wait for you. I don't want you to get lost." Said Chan as she settled herself onto the bed.

"I'll just be a minute." Yuugi replied, before he got up and started searching for some clothes to wear. Once he found some he hurried into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

After a ten minute shower, Yuugi dried his hair and made sure the spikes were neat then dressed in a pair of black jeans, a gray shirt with Jack Skellington's face on it, and his black combat boots. When he reentered the bedroom, he found Chan in the same place and it looked like she hadn't moved a muscle. "Shall we get going?"

Chan hopped off the bed and took Yuugi's hand in hers. "I'll lead the way."

Yuugi smiled as Chan pulled him out of the room and down the hall.

* * *

Taylor was waiting at the front entrance to the dining room when Chan and Yuugi arrived. He was dressed in some blue jeans and a green and black button up shirt. "Morning Yuugi, I hope you had a good night's rest."

"I think it was the best sleep I have gotten in days." Yuugi commented.

Taylor led the two into the dining room and when Yuugi got a look at who was all at the table, he stopped in his tracks.

Ethan was in the same spot as yesterday with Jason beside him. Jiro was sitting beside Jason while Kotaro was sitting across from Ethan. The King was sitting in his seat, but that wasn't what shocked Yuugi. It was the way the King looked.

King Yami was dressed in a pair of black leather pants, black combat boots, and a black muscle shirt. The strangest thing was instead of the black mask that he normally wore it was replaced with white bandages covering his face. The bandages were wrapped around his head just right so that his hair still stuck up in its normal five spikes.

Yuugi took notice that the king's mouth was uncovered along with one eye while the other eye was covered by bandages.

Taylor noticed Yuugi had stopped and turned to him. "Is everything alright?" He asked.

Yuugi nodded his head. "I was just taken back by the King's mask being gone."

Taylor looked back at his father then back to Yuugi. "He only wears the bandages when he eats a meal with us. When Ethan and I first came here, it came as a shock to us too. We asked him about it, but the only thing he told us was that with the mask he couldn't eat with us."

"I'm guessing to eat he would have had to lift the mask up and he didn't want you to see his face." Yuugi guessed since that seemed like the only explanation. "Do you know why he will not show his face?"

Taylor shook his head and the two approached the table.

Yami lifted his head from reading the book in his hand to see Chan and Taylor taking their places at the table. Yuugi decided to sit on the other side of Chan instead of next to Yami incase last night was a onetime thing only.

However Yami had different plans. "Yuugi, if you want you can sit next to me. I have some things I wish to discuss with you." He said while getting up and pulling out the chair for Yuugi.

Yuugi gave in, not wanting to disobey a King and took the seat on Yami's left side. "Thank you."

Yami sat back down in his seat and bookmarked his place in his book before setting it aside. "So Yuugi, did you sleep well last night?" He asked.

Yuugi folded his hands in his lap and tried to make eye contact with Yami, but it was hard. Being closer to Yami, Yuugi realized that the one eye that wasn't covered, the eye color was red… blood red. "I-I slept fine and how was your night your highness?"

Yami chuckled. "Please call me Yami. I may be King and rule this city, but I dislike the title." He said before answering Yuugi's question. "I slept great last night, thank you for asking."

Before any other talk could be started up, three maids dressed in casual clothes came into the room with many plates of different breakfast foods. Two plates held stacks of pancakes and waffles, another held bacon, another held scrambled eggs, and another held biscuits, and the last one held sausage patties and links. It was just enough to feed everyone at the table and get them full.

One of the maids passed empty plates around the table to each person before bowing before her King and politely asked, "Sir is there anything you are in need of?"

"The usually drinks for me and my children," Yami replied, before looking toward Yuugi and asking. "What would you like to drink?"

"Some orange juice would be nice."

Yami returned his attention to the maid, "Some orange juice for our guest and some syrup and jelly to go with our breakfast."

The three maids hurried off to do just that.

The children had already started to fill their plates with food, so Yuugi sat back and waited until they were done.

Yami sighed. "I'm sorry Yuugi. Guest should always go first, but I guess my children couldn't wait to eat."

Yuugi let out a smile. "That is quite alright. I would rather let the children go first."

Once the children got what they wanted Yuugi began to fill his plate with what he wanted. After he did so, he noticed Yami had yet to get what he wanted. "If I may ask, are you not hungry Yami?"

Yami simple shook his head and said, "I do not eat human food like the rest of my children. I lost the taste for it after I first became a vampire."

"Oh…" was all Yuugi said as a light blush covered his cheeks. "I'm guessing you only drink blood."

Yami let a smile grace his face. "You are quite correct Yuugi."

The rest of the meal was spent in silence even after the maids returned with juice for Yuugi and goblets of blood for the vampire family.

* * *

When breakfast was over, all the children left the dining room to do as they wish while Yuugi sat with Yami. The maids had long come and cleaned the table, but left Yuugi's juice because he was still taking sips from it.

"Yuugi…" Yami began catching Yuugi's attention. "I want to discuss the details of today's schedule with you. Your new home is ready to be moved into and I would like to know if you want to go to it first or go shopping for a car?"

Yuugi took another sip of his drink finishing it off, before answering the question. "I wouldn't mind seeing my house first. Who is going to take me there?"

"I have cleared my work schedule so that I may take you."

Yuugi could feel heat rise to his cheeks at the thought of him and the King alone together. It seemed the King was going out of his way to stay close to Yuugi and for some reason it made Yuugi both nervous and excited. "Thank you Yami, but you really don't have to. I'm sure you are a very busy person being the ruler and all."

Yami chuckled and patted Yuugi's shoulder closest to him. "Every King needs a break and it would be my honor. I need to make sure you like the house."

Yuugi decided to just agree with Yami and allow him to take him to his new home. No harm in being around the King all day… right?

* * *

The site was breath taking! Yuugi couldn't believe he was going to live in such a beautiful neighborhood. It was one of those neighborhoods where all the houses looked alike with their perfectly green cut grass and white picket fences. The houses were all two story and while most of them were a shining white, some were other colors such as pink, green, and even a bright yellow. Each house had a garage for their car and a black mail box at the end of the driveway.

Taylor drove his truck down the many streets until he came to a small cove. He was their driver for the day until Yuugi got his own vehicle. It was a relief to Yuugi since he wasn't alone with Yami. Speaking of Yami he sat in the passenger seat with his arms crossed and black mask on his face so no one could see his face.

The mask in Yuugi's opinion was way better then the bandages.

Taylor pulled the truck into driveway of the white house that was straight ahead which was in the middle of all the other houses. He put the truck in park then shut it off. All three exited the vehicle and Yuugi noticed Yami looked less tense then he was in the truck.

"Yami, do you not like vehicles?"

Yami looked at him. "You could say that…" That was all he said before walking around the truck to Taylor. "Taylor, I'm going to show Yuugi around his house, you get the boxes for him."

Taylor nodded and went to the back of the truck to get Yuugi's boxes with all his things inside.

Yuugi took one last look at Taylor, before following Yami through the gate and into the front yard of his house. Yami walked down the path and up the three steps that lead to the small porch. He pulled out a small silver key and unlocked the front door.

Yuugi stepped into the house and looked around in amazement. Directly on his left was a cozy looking living room and an open kitchen beside it with an island separating the two rooms. Beside the kitchen, but in front of Yuugi were an open dining room and a sliding glass door leading to the back yard. To Yuugi's right was a small table and on the other side of the table was closet for coats. Down a little ways from the closet and more near the dining room was a small hallway. Yuugi walked down the hallway and on his left found two bed rooms and on his right a bathroom. At the end of the hall was a spiral stair case. Yami joined Yuugi and led him up the stairs where they entered another hallway. Yuugi was showed his master bedroom with a bathroom and across the hall was his own personal office/library. What Yuugi found neat was that the bathroom had two doors. One you can access from inside Yuugi's room and the other door lead to the hallway.

After the quick tour, the two headed back downstairs and found Taylor stacking all the boxes into the living room.

"So what do you think?" Taylor asked with a smile.

Yuugi couldn't stop the smile that came to his face. "I love it. I can't get over how great it looks and all the furniture is beautiful."

Taylor sat down on the black leather couch and placed his sneaker covered feet on the coffee table. "All the furniture is hand selected by my father after he reads a person's profile. However if there is a piece of furniture you dislike you can tell us now or later and we will replace it with something you do like."

Yuugi shook his head. "So far I love everything, but I will let you know if I don't like something."

"Oh…" Taylor quickly got up and went into the kitchen. He pulled a piece of paper that was stuck to the fridge off and bought it to Yuugi. "These are emergency numbers for the city. We don't use the simple 911 like other places. Also at the end is the number for my father's office, so if you have any questions you can call that number or ask your neighbors."

Yuugi took the paper and looked it over before putting it in his pocket. "Anything else we need to do today?"

Yami stepped up to the two. "We'll need to go get you a vehicle and then show you where you will be working. However if you wish to spend a few hours here and get used to your home you may do that."

Yuugi shook his head. He would rather get everything else done before settling down into his new home. "Let's go car shopping and see my work place. I will have plenty of time to get settled into my house."

With those words all three headed out of the house and Yami handed Yuugi the key so he could lock up. After that was done they all climbed back into the truck.

* * *

Three hours were spent at the car dealership and Yuugi was able to get himself a nice four door Ford-F150 truck in a navy blue color. After the truck was signed off to Yuugi, Yami got the dealership to tow the vehicle to Yuugi's house. When Yuugi had the truck keys in his hand he realized how great it felt to have his own ride again.

So when they were done there they all got back in Taylor's truck and Taylor drove them downtown where the antique shop was located. Downtown was not far from the palace and by now it was full of life. Humans and Vampires were all walking around downtown catching some lunch or shopping. It took about five minutes before they pulled up in front of a black brick building with two stories. Most of the shops around there were two stories such as the two stores on either side of the antique shop. The store on the right was a flower shop and the shop to the left was a cake shop and café. There were table with chairs and umbrellas set outside the café so people could eat and drink while enjoying the outdoors.

Once they all got out of the truck, Yami approached the shop door and took another silver key out of his pocket. As he opened the door, an old lady from the flower shop stepped out of her shop with a broom. She paused and looked at them before doing a bow toward Yami.

"Good afternoon your majesty," She said with a smile. "How is the shop coming along? I noticed it hasn't been open for the past two days."

Yami looked toward his son.

Taylor rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Uh..." He really had no excuse for why the shop hadn't been opened. "Sorry dad, but it's just so boring."

The lady giggled. "Young people these days."

"You would think Taylor would have grown out of his young days a long time ago." Yami said with a sigh.

Yuugi approached the lady and decided to introduce himself. "Hello, my name is Yuugi and I'll be running the shop from now on."

The lady shook Yuugi's hand. "It's nice to meet you Yuugi. I'm Mrs. Holland, but you may call me Sara. If you don't mind me asking are you new to the city?"

"Is it that obvious?" Yuugi asked with a blush.

Sara shook her head. "No, I just thought I would ask since I haven't seen you around before."

Yami placed a hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "I hope you will take good care of Yuugi if he has any questions while working here Sara."

"Of course your highness, I would be more than happy to help out when I can," Replied Sara. "Now if you will excuse me I must do some sweeping before more costumers arrive." She turned toward her shop and started to sweep the welcome mat.

The conversation ended there and Yuugi waved to Sara as Yami lead him back toward his new job.

* * *

This was the third time that day that Yuugi was amazed by something, but this had to be the number one thing that amazed him. The antique shop was filled with millions of different items that were thousand to hundreds years old. Rows and shelves were filled with trinkets, statues, and old books. At the back of the shop was a long glass case with little figure statues and really old jewelry inside it. A cash register was set up on the glass case and behind the case were shelves with more trinkets and a door beside that.

Yami lead Yuugi behind case and opened the door. Stairs leading upstairs were what was hiding behind the door. "These led upstairs to where most of the items that have not been priced go." He explained. "People come to this shop to buy and sell antique items."

Taylor stood in front of the make-shift counter top. "When I would watch the shop, Chan and Kotaro loved to go up there and play games. As long as they didn't break anything it was fine."

"So when is the shop normally open?" asked Yuugi as he turned to Taylor.

"Normal work hours are Monday through Friday ten to six. Weekends the shop is never open because no one wants to spend their weekend working." Taylor explained.

Yuugi took that information in and realized today was Friday so he would have the whole weekend to fix up his house. "I think I can handle that. It will be nice to not get up so early in the mornings. Plus I never liked working weekends anyway."

"Oh and if someone wants to sell their item you can call me or Ethan and we will come help you out. It's hard to tell if their is any value in a really old item so we have to do research and be able to make a profit off the item."

Yuugi nodded his head and turned his attention back to Yami. "Thank you for letting me work here."

"Your welcome..." Yami said as he handed him the key to the shop. "This place is very special to me. Promise to take good care of it."

Taylor rolled his eyes. "I think he loves it more than his own children." He mumbled under his breath.

Yuugi giggled and took the key from Yami. "I promise to take great care of it."

* * *

After Yuugi got a good look around the shop, everyone headed back to the palace for lunch. When lunch was over Taylor took Yuugi back into town to get some grocery for his house, before Taylor took him home.

As Yuugi put his grocery away he couldn't help but go over in his head everything that had happened in one day.

"I still feel like this is all a dream." He said to himself as he put the last item away in the kitchen.

Once all that was done, Yuugi went into the living room to move the boxes to the room they needed to go to. When that was done, he went back downstairs to relax and see if anything was on TV.

The living room had white walls and a beige carpet. It held a black leather couch, love seat, and recliner, along with a dark wood coffee table with glass middle and a dark wood entertainment center. The only thing on the entertainment center was a medium size flat screen TV.

Picking up the remote Yuugi started to flip through the channels to see what everything was. He was sure the channels were different than back in Cairo. Nothing much was on so Yuugi settled for the news, before he reached into his pocket and pulled out all the keys he had collected. One was his house key, another one was the truck key, and the last key was the shop key. "I better find something to keep all of this together."

A thought hit him and he quickly went back upstairs and started to search in his boxes for something. He found it mixed in with his clothes and pulled it out. It was a key chain of an upside down pyramid with the eye of Horus on it. He attached all three keys to his key chain then pocketed the set of keys.

* * *

Sakura: Done! I finally got this chapter to go the way I wanted it to! Things will start to get really interesting next chapter!

Yumi: Review! P.S. Try and tell other puzzleshipping fans about this story we are trying to hit 200 reviews by chapter ten


	7. Chapter 7

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **I was impressed with all the great reviews that I decided to update this story again. I also noticed everyone has been asking about Yami's mask and why he hides his face. It doesn't bug me that people are asking, but I wanted to tell everyone that you will find out why he hides his face a few chapters after Yugi and Yami get together. I know everyone is curious, but I would like it if people didn't ask anymore. I'm not trying to be mean, but it will get annoying if people keep asking, not that anyone has been asking a lot.

I'm rambling now so time to start the chapter…

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**First Day on the Job**

Time to get to work

* * *

Monday morning rolled around quickly for Yuugi. He awoke to his alarm clock blaring in his ear at eight o'clock on the dot. Reaching over he pushed the snooze button and sat up in bed. A yawn escaped his mouth and he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. The night before he had been invited to his neighbor's house for supper and they had stayed up late talking.

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor was a respectable couple, both twenty three years old, that lived next door with their three year old son named Andrew. Tea Taylor was a stay at home mom and Tristan Taylor worked as an accountant. Yuugi found out that their great-great-grandparents had bought their families there for a change and it was at a time when the city was still somewhat known about. Tristan and Tea had been friends since they were little and they happened to have been born in the city. The only time they ever left the city was to go to college. However Tea got pregnant her third year and dropped out. Tristan kept going and got his degree before moving him and Tea back to the city. They were a nice family and Yuugi didn't mind having them as neighbors.

Yuugi rolled himself out of bed and went to his bedroom window to open the curtain. Yuugi's bedroom window faced the backyard, while his office window across the hall faced the front yard. Looking out Yuugi noticed the sun was shining and there were no clouds in the sky. "My first day of work and it's a beautiful day." He said to himself as he stretched.

After stretching to wake his body up, Yuugi went to his closet and started looking through his clothes. "I wasn't given a uniform, but I have no idea what to wear." He mumbled to himself. It took five minutes of going through his clothes before Yuugi decided on a pair of white shorts that went to his knee and a baby blue t-shirt. He grabbed a pair of boxers from his dresser before going into the adjoining bathroom.

The bathroom was laid out so that when you walk into the room from the bedroom you were facing the wall that had a wall length counter with two sinks and a wall length mirror. To Yuugi's left was a stand up shower and to his right was hot tub style bathtub with room enough for two. On the other side of the bathtub was the toilet which was hidden by a curtain so if anyone walked into the bathroom the person on the toilet would have privacy.

Taking a quick twenty minute shower, Yuugi dried his hair and dressed before leaving the bathroom to head downstairs. The house was livelier after Yuugi spent his whole Saturday unpacking his boxes and adding his own personal touch to the house. Pictures hung on the walls in the living room and the entertainment center was filled with little items his grandfather gave him from digs and a good amount of Yuugi's DVD collection.

Yuugi fixed himself an omelet with tomatoes and cheese and a tall glass of orange juice before going into the living room to watch the news. It was nice to relax instead of him rushing every morning to get to class on time.

When he was finished with his meal he washed his dishes then put them away. By time all that was done it was around nine so Yuugi decided to go into work an hour early. It would be better to get used to the place before and if any costumers came. So he grabbed his wallet, cell phone, and keys before walking out of the house and locking the door.

As he walked out of the front yard and open his garage to get his truck out, he noticed Tristan was out and opening his own garage. "Morning Tristan," He greeted with a wave.

"Morning Yuugi," Tristan greeted back with a wave. He was a rather tall man coming to six foot with short brown hair that came into a point at the front of his head. His eyes were brown also and he had a rather cream colored complexion. He was wearing some brown shorts and a gray t-shirt with brown scandals. "What are you doing this morning?"

"First day of work today, going in early to get used to the place," Yuugi called back.

"I wish you luck. My boss gave me the day off so we're going into town today to get breakfast then do some shopping."

Just then a tall woman carrying a three year old child came out of the Taylor's house and locked the front door. She turned to Yuugi and smiled. "Morning Yuugi," She greeted.

Yuugi smiled back. "Morning Tea and Andrew," He greeted back.

Tea was a tall woman the same height as her husband with short brown hair that came to just above her shoulders. She had bright blue eyes and a cream color complexion. She was wearing a bright white sun dress that came to her knees with brown flip flops and a yellow sun hat. Andrew looked just like his father except he had soft figures to his face and blue eyes. He was dressed in blue jean shorts and a yellow t-shirt with white tennis shoes.

"Where you headed off to Yuugi?" Tea asked.

"Work," He replied. "Tristan told me you guys were going out today because he has the day off. I hope you all have fun."

Tea flashed him another smile. "Thank you Yuugi. We hope you have a good day."

Once the conversation ended, Yuugi walked into his garage and got into his truck. Driving out of the garage he watched as the garage door closed itself before pulling out of his drive way and into the cove. He waved one more time to the Taylor family who were pulling out of their driveway before driving off down the street.

* * *

Yuugi arrived at the shop fifteen minutes later and parked right in front of it. He got out and walked up to the door, waving to Sara on the way since she was out of her shop. Opening the door and going in, he closed it back and locked it so no one would think the shop was open yet.

Looking around he decided to get behind the counter and see if there was any money in the register. He had to make sure he had change if anyone came in and bought something. It was an old fashion register so Yuugi just had to hit one button and it opened right up. Inside was a pile of twenties, tens, and fives, along with some little coin change. It appeared the City used American currency.

Closing the register back up, Yuugi decided to walk around the shop and see where everything was before he had to open the shop up. He found some nice Egyptian artifacts which really held his interest. It was amazing how much history was in that one store.

When ten o'clock rolled around Yuugi opened the door and flipped the closed sign to open.

* * *

When one o'clock came around Yuugi had never been more bored in his entire life. He sat behind the counter on a stool he found upstairs with his elbows resting on the counter. He had his head rested in his hands with a bored look on his face. Not one costumer had come in and Yuugi was beginning to think he wouldn't see one.

The door to the shop opened and Yuugi thought he was about to get his first costumer, but then he sighed when it was only Taylor and Ethan walking in. Being the twins they were they were dressed in the same type of blue jeans and white and black sneakers, but there t-shirts were different colors. Taylor wore a brown shirt and Ethan wore a black one.

"Lookie here Ethan, Yuugi came into to work." Taylor teased as they walked up to the counter.

Yuugi pouted and put his hands on his hips. "I was given this job so I need to come into work if I want to get paid."

Ethan chuckled. "Let me guess no customers yet?"

"What do you think?" Yuugi asked with sarcasm. "You guys used to work here."

Taylor leaned against the counter. "We figured you would have been bored, so we decided to drop by and see if you wanted to eat lunch with us. There is this great hamburger joint up the street within walking distance."

Yuugi shrugged. "Fine by me I don't think I'll see a customer anytime soon. I was planning to take a lunch break about two if no one had come in. Let me lock up and we can head out."

They all headed toward the door and Yuugi took the time to flip the sign back to closed before they all walked out. He locked the door and then they were able to start walking down the street.

Taylor was right when he said it was within walking distance because they only passed about six stores before they came to the hamburger place. Ethan held open the door for them and as they walked in Yuugi noticed they weren't that busy. He guessed the lunch rush had already come and gone.

They placed their orders at the register and Taylor paid for it before they found a table to wait for their order to be cooked and bought to them.

Small talk was passed around the table until their orders came and then they started to eat. Yuugi was impressed by how good his burger was. He hadn't had anything that good since he was home in Japan. "This is quite a good hamburger place here."

"It's one of the best." Ethan explained. "Taylor and I like to come here from time to time when we don't' have to take care of our siblings."

"So what is the real reason you guys came to get me for lunch?" Yuugi couldn't help but ask. It didn't seem like they did this for everyone who was new to the city.

Taylor and Ethan exchanged a look that Yuugi knew they were going to try and hide the real reason.

Yuugi crossed his arms and just looked at them. "The truth would be nice."

Taylor took a sighed and decided to go with the truth. "Ethan thinks our father likes you."

"Likes me?"

Ethan rolled his eyes. "As in likes you and may even want to go on a date."

It took no time for Yuugi's face to light up to a bright red. The King of the City liking him? It just didn't seem real to him. "How can you be so sure?"

"He was the one who told us to come have lunch with you. He has been taking extra measures to make sure you are happy in this city. We have never seen him act like this with anyone else." Ethan told him with a serious look on his face so Yuugi knew he was telling the truth.

"We think it's a love at first sight thing. As far as we know our father has never been married and we are not sure if he has ever loved anyone before." Taylor explained. "This may be why he is taking extra measures to make sure you are happy. He doesn't know what to do to express his feelings."

Yuugi sat there at a loss for words. He couldn't even begin to understand why Yami would have an interest in him. Heck, Yuugi didn't even know if he could like the King in that way. They barely knew each other.

"So what does he expect?" This was Yuugi's next question, because he seriously hoped Yami wasn't expecting a date.

Taylor twirled his straw around in his drink. "I think he expects us to find out if we find any hints that you might like him back. If we tell him he might have a chance… well he probably would be on your door step asking you on a date."

Yuugi looked down at his food. Most of it was gone except a few fries. "I really don't know your father that well. I honestly couldn't tell you if I have feelings or not."

Ethan smiled at Yuugi as he looked back up. "It's alright Yuugi, but if you would could you get to know him and maybe give him a chance. We're not forcing you to date our father, but he needs to get out."

"If you don't want to do this we understand and won't ask again." Taylor added in.

Yuugi looked uncertain and he couldn't just tell them his decision within a few minutes. "I'll need some time to think over this. If you want you can come back tomorrow and I'll give you my decision."

Taylor and Ethan agreed to that and were glad they were able to at least get Yuugi to think it over.

* * *

Six o'clock came along and Yuugi was a little worn out. After he got back from his lunch break he got about five costumers, two of which bought something, one wanted to sell, and the last two just wanted to look around. The one that wanted to sell was an elderly lady and she needed some money so she wanted to sell a vase that had been her in her family for generations. It was a pretty good size vase and she would have loved to keep it, but she had no more use for it and it was taking up space.

Yuugi got the lady's contact information and her name and let her know he would get back to her on how much he could give her for it. The lady was happy with that and left the vase with Yuugi.

The vase was to Yuugi's waist in height and weight a ton because he couldn't even pick it up to take it upstairs. Yuugi realized that they lady's son who had come in with her, must have been strong or a vampire to carry this vase. He decided to leave it behind the counter and put a not for sale sign on it.

Once the work day was over, Yuugi counted up the money he got from the two items he sold and put it in an envelope. Taylor had told Yuugi during lunch that if he sold anything he could put the money in an envelope and take it upstairs. There was a safe up there that held all the money they earned until someone could take it all to the bank.

After that was taken care of Yuugi made sure everything was in its place before turning off the lights, flipping the sign closed, and then leaving the store. He locked the door behind him and then went and got in his truck.

* * *

When Yuugi got home he went upstairs to get on some more comfortable clothes after a long day of work. He put on a pair of black sweat pants and a black muscle shirt. Going back downstairs in his sock feet, Yuugi decided to go ahead and get dinner started so he could eat then get to bed.

He made some ramen noodles and a grilled cheese sandwich with a glass of coca-cola. Going into the living room with his meal, he got comfortable on the couch and turned the TV on. It took a while, but he finally found a movie on that he had seen before and really liked.

As the minutes passed and he got more into the movie, Yuugi decided to take his dirty dinner dishes to the sink when commercials came on. Once that was done, he grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and lay down. The day's work must have gotten to him, because not long after he lay down and the movie was finishing up, Yuugi fell asleep.

* * *

_Moonlight reflected off the fountain which stood out beautifully in the middle of the enormous garden filled with flowers of all kinds. Yuugi sat peacefully beside the fountain looking at his reflection. He was dressed in a long white robe with long sleeves and white slippers. Underneath the robe he wore no shirt, but only a pair of white sleep pants._

_Everything was calm and quiet as Yuugi sat in thought. It seemed liked Yuugi was in his own world because he didn't hear the approaching footsteps of someone behind him. He did jump a little when he felt someone sit behind him and wrap their arms around his waist. _

_Yuugi turned his head to see the bandaged face of King Yami._

_Yami pulled Yuugi closer and placed his chin on Yuugi's shoulder. "I was wondering where you wondered off to this late at night. What are you doing out here?"_

_A sigh escaped Yuugi's mouth as he got himself comfortable in Yami's lap. "I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to disturb your sleep so I came out here for a walk." He answered as he lean back into the strong arms holding him. _

"_If you wanted to talk you could have woke me up. I don't like it when you wonder off Yuugi." Lips grazed his neck before butterfly kisses were laid up and down it._

_The shiver that went through Yuugi couldn't be held back. It was a feeling he enjoyed and wouldn't trade it for anything. There was nothing but love in those kisses. A happy sigh escaped Yuugi's mouth this time as he turned in Yami's arms and smashed their lips together. _

_The kiss was heated and heavy. By the time they broke for air, Yuugi was on his back with Yami over him. Yami ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair before going right back in for more kisses. _

_

* * *

_

Yuugi sat up quickly and put a hand over his heart to calm its racing. He hadn't had a dream like that for while and it bugged him at how real it seemed. Untangling himself from his blanket, he went to the kitchen to splash some water on his face. After he was calmed down he went back to the living room and picked up his cell phone. It was one in the morning. "I need to get to bed." He mumbled to himself as he turned off the TV and headed for the stairs.

Once he was in bed and settled down, Yuugi stared up at the canopy above his head. The dream he just had still fresh in his mind. "Why in the world am I having dreams like that?" He asked himself. "I don't even have any romantic feelings for the guy!"

That didn't help Yuugi believe less of the dream because he started to think of what Ethan and Taylor had asked him earlier that day. With a heavy sigh Yuugi rolled over and stared at his wall. "I've got to do something or these dreams will never end."

Again the same request that Ethan and Taylor asked him crept to the front of his mind. The idea wasn't half bad, but Yuugi didn't want to have to turn down the King if he couldn't return his feelings. He didn't think Yami would kick him out of the city if he didn't go out with him… would he?

The only way to know for sure was to get to know the King and then take it from there. If Yuugi realized that he had no romantic feelings for Yami, then he was just going to have to tell him. It would at least get things out in the open and hopefully Yami would understand and if not… well Yuugi could always move back home to Japan.

It was decided that Yuugi would get to know the King.

* * *

Sakura: I didn't know how much fun it would be to have Yuugi in denial!

Yugi: It's mean!

Sakura: Oh you'll get over it. Next chapter we will see if Yuugi is willing to give Yami a chance.

Yumi: Review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **Nothing much to say except college for me is starting back up and I will be taking a week off to get used to classes. So don't expect a bunch of updates. Remember if you want to know if I am updating just take a look at my profile and it will let you know if I am updating that week.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Love at First Sight**

Dating….Boyfriends….Something?

* * *

Second day of work and things were still slow. Yuugi stood behind the counter watching the door waiting on at least one costumer to come in. He was dressed in simple blue jeans, a black tank top, and black and white sneakers. Taylor sat beside him on his laptop doing research on the vase Yuugi got yesterday. When Yuugi called him yesterday about the vase Taylor told Yuugi he would come to the shop around lunch time and even bring some lunch so they could stay at the shop. Taylor was dressed in a pair of blue jeans with holes in the knees and a gray t-shirt with green short sleeves.

People walked around outside the shop and some looked through the window, but no one walked in. With a sigh Yuugi hid himself behind the counter by sitting on the floor. "It's nice having a job and the pay is good, but I'm so bored!"

Taylor snickered, but continued looking at his laptop screen.

Yuugi rolled his eyes at him and pulled the brown bag next to him closer to him. Inside was an empty wrapper that used to hold his cheese burger before he ate it, but there were still fries in the bag so he pulled them out one by one and ate them.

Silence filled the room and for some odd reasons it made Yuugi nervous.

It wasn't until a couple minutes later did Taylor speak, but he never once took his eyes off his laptop. "I didn't want to bring this up right away, but I wanted to know if you thought about what we talked about yesterday?"

Yuugi looked up at Taylor. "I thought about it."

"And," Taylor said while turning his head to look at Yuugi.

"I would like to see your father and tell him my decision."

Taylor slapped his own forehead. "How did I not see that one coming…?" He muttered to himself.

However Yuugi heard him and laughed at his actions. "Sorry Taylor, but if anything happens between your father and I, it is between us. I think he would also believe it better if it came out of my mouth."

Taylor stuck out his tongue at Yuugi. "You are no fun at all." He then smiled at Yuugi. "I hope you do choose to get to know him. I think it would be nice having you in the family."

"Do you think he would mine if I came to dinner with you all?" Yuugi asked.

"It will be fine. I'll just tell dad I invited you to dinner because we have some things to discuss about your job. We could even use this research on that vase as evidence." Taylor replied.

The ringing of a bell broke their conversation and Yuugi quickly stood up to see a couple walk in. They were two young looking boys and the taller one had an arm around the shorter one. They smiled at Yuugi, who smiled back and welcomed them to the shop. As they looked around, Yuugi turned his attention back to Taylor and quietly continued to talk to him.

"Is it common to see couples like that?"

Taylor looked at the two boys looking around and nodded his head at Yuugi. "People are more open about their sexuality here in this city than anywhere else, because most of the people in the city are vampires. Humans know not to get on a bad side of a vampire because they will quickly lose the fight. Those two over there are vampires because of their golden eyes. It doesn't surprise me that they walk around holding on to each other like that. Humans like to be treated normal around other humans and that is why they hide their sexuality. You will see more gay and lesbian couples in vampires than in humans."

Yuugi looked back up at the two boys and took notice that their eyes were indeed golden. "Two more questions. Do most vampires have golden eyes and what about a human and a vampire together?"

"The vampires who have golden eyes are the vampires that can turn humans by their bite." Taylor raised a questioning eyebrow when he answered the second question. "It's kind of common to see a human dating a vampire, because that is how most of the couples start out until the vampire changes the human. If you didn't already know about this vampires can't have children because they are dead in a sense. So the only way our kind grows is by changing humans."

Yuugi thought about that over in his head and figured if something did come out of him getting to know Yami, than at least they wouldn't be a weird couple. He also figured if he started to date Yami, no one would want to mess with him because they would have to deal with the King.

Taylor snapped his fingers in front of Yuugi's face to wake him back up. He looked like he had been drifting off into la la land. "You wouldn't have been dreaming of my father were you?" He teased with a small smirk.

Yuugi blushed heavily. "I was not!" He said defending himself.

"Sure you weren't…" Taylor snickered as he went back to work.

Yuugi would have said something else, but the two boys still in the shop had come up to the counter to buy something. After they had been dealt with Yuugi sat back on the floor and pouted. Taylor wasn't going to quit teasing him until he found out what Yuugi thought of his father.

* * *

As night rolled in Yuugi stood in the front foyer of the huge castle, after work Yuugi had gone home and got ready to go to the castle for dinner. He didn't get a phone call from Taylor, so he figured Yami had agreed with Taylor about him coming over for dinner. Once he was ready he got into his truck and drove himself to the castle. A guard showed where he could park and then lend him inside. Taylor had greeted him but then ran off to check on something.

So now Yuugi stood for ten minutes waiting on Taylor to come back and show him to the dining room. He would have walked there himself, but he had already forgotten the way. He had only been their twice, but he had been led both times and didn't really pay attention to where he was going.

It took another five minutes before Taylor ran up to him. "Sorry about the wait something came up."

Yuugi rolled his eyes. "My stomach is growling and I haven't had anything since lunch. Can you please show me the way now?"

Taylor laughed. "I didn't know you wanted to see my father that badly."

A light blush dusted Yuugi's cheeks. "I do not. I'm just hungry." He defended himself.

"Sure keep telling yourself that." Taylor put his arm around Yuugi and started to lead the way. "By the way I love the outfit. Are you trying to charm Yami?"

Yuugi bowed his head and sighed. "No, I wasn't sure what to wear so I picked something I liked."

The outfit he had on was black jeans, the same sneakers he had been wearing all day, a purple t-shirt with a black vest, and a black studded choker.

"You might want to try and not sit close to Yami or he might not be able to keep his hands off of you." Taylor teased again.

Yuugi had to fight down the new blush forming as they had just entered the dining room. The weird part was the dining room was empty except for Yami sitting in his seat. Yami was wearing the bandages around his face instead of the mask and he was dressed in black leather pants, black combat boots, and a black long sleeve shirt with a crimson vest.

Yami had stood up when they entered the room and greeted Yuugi with a smile. "Good evening Yuugi. It's nice to see you again."

Yuugi gave a nervous smile and shook hands with Yami. "It's nice to see you again too. I hope you don't mind me coming over for dinner. Taylor and I needed to work some things out with the shop."

"About that…" Yuugi's attention turned to Taylor as he stood their rubbing the back of his head. "I'm going to have to miss out on dinner and get back to you later Yuugi. Like I said before something important came up that I have to deal with." Taylor explained as he started to back up from the two. "However don't let me spoil your dinner. Have fun!"

Before one protest from Yuugi could even be thought about Taylor was out of the room.

Yuugi had been set up and he hadn't even seen it coming.

Yami looked after his son with a confused look on his face. "That is strange. All my children were going to join us for dinner than one by one they came to me telling me that something came up and they wouldn't be joining us. I thought for sure Taylor would come, but I guess not."

"We were set up." Yuugi explained.

The confused look on Yami's face was turned toward Yuugi next. "Set up for what?" He questioned.

Yuugi sighed and decided to be honest with the King. "Taylor and Ethan believe you have a thing for me. I believe they want us to get together so they most likely set this up so we would get to know each other and maybe something would come of it."

"Yuugi I…" Yami started to say, but was stopped by Yuugi's slightly raised hand asking him to stop.

Yuugi looked Yami right in his eye and asked the one question he wanted to know the truth about. "Do you have a thing for me? I need an honest answer."

The King looked at Yuugi for what seemed like forever before he sighed and gave a slight nod. "It's something about you. Every since you first came into the city and I saw your face I had this feeling bubbling in my chest. I always felt like I needed to get to know you more and understand this feeling. However you left and I wasn't sure if you would ever return to the city so I pushed the strange feeling aside. When you did return I took it upon myself to make sure you were happy. I wanted everything to be perfect for you so you would never want to leave."

Yuugi let a small smile come upon his face. "Thank you for being honest with me. In truth I thought you were just being kind, but I can see now that I seem to be getting special treatment." He let the smile drop and sighed. "I think I understand what you are feeling, but it will take time for me to figure out if I like you the same way you like me. If you are willing I would be more than happy to get to know you better so we can see if anything becomes of this."

Yami placed a hand on Yuugi's shoulder and smiled. "Thank you for the chance. In all my time as a human and a vampire I have never felt such a strong connection to anyone before. I would like for this to work out."

"Let's start by not letting dinner go to waste and getting to know each other." Yuugi suggested as he took his seat along with Yami.

The rest of dinner was spent eating and talking about things they wanted to know of each other. The first step had been taken, but there was no way of telling if it would process into something more.

* * *

Yuugi stared and that is all he did for the first five minutes since he opened the shop that Wednesday morning. Right in front of him on the counter was a nice small crystal vase with a red rose and white rose inside it with water. Next to the vase was a letter in perfectly cursive handwriting. He had to take a deep breath before picking up the letter and began to read it. It was a short letter with only one sentence and it said:

_One white rose for our blooming friendship and one red rose to symbolize a hopeful love. _

_King Yami_

"I see you guys had fun last night."

Yuugi about jumped ten feet in the air when he heard someone behind him speak. He turned to see Taylor, Ethan, and Jason standing behind him with smiles on their faces. "What are you guys doing here?" Yuugi asked with a hand over his fast beating heart.

Taylor grinned at him. "I just came back to talk to you about the vase. I had to come early because Ethan, Jason, and I all have plans for the rest of the day."

"Oh like the plans you had last night when you set me up with Yami." Yuugi questioned with his hands on his hips and a pouty look on his face.

"It was all Taylor's plan!" Ethan and Jason shouted at the same time while pouting fingers at Taylor.

Taylor rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot." He ignored his brothers and continued talking to Yuugi. "I figured if I didn't get you alone with our father nothing would happen."

Yuugi continued to stare Taylor down. "Is the vase the only thing you came here for?"

The hundred year old teen rubbed the back of his head a little nervous under Yuugi's stare. "Why else would I be here?"

Ethan rolled his eyes and pointed at both his younger brother and idiot of a lover. "These two wanted to know the details of last night."

Taylor and Jason looked at Ethan before turning to Yuugi and started to put their hands up in defense. "We did not!"

Yuugi chuckled at the three. "I figured you were here because of that." He turned away from them and picked up the gift from Yami. He moved the flowers behind the counter and put them in a safe place.

Taylor, Jason, and Ethan had followed him and were leaning on the counter.

"So…" Jason spoke up. "How did it go last night? Our dad wouldn't tell us anything."

Yuugi gave them a gentle smile. "Yami and I have decided to get to know each other and be friends for now. If things process and we become more than friends then so be it."

"Do you even like him in a possible lover sort of way?" Ethan asked.

Yuugi pulled his stool out and sat down facing the boys. "I will admit Yami and I had a good time last night, but there isn't much I can tell you right now. I can't like him because of his looks since I haven't seen his face, which looks never mattered to me anyway…His personality was something I could like about him…." He paused for a moment as he realized there wasn't much he could go by to figure out if he had feelings for Yami. Yuugi had talked most of the night answering questions Yami asked him, while Yami only said a few things. "I did not realize until now that last night I did most of the talking. Yami did not say much about himself so I have no idea if we have anything in common."

"That will make it hard for you to hang out with him if you do not know what he likes and dislikes." Jason explained.

Taylor hit him upside the head. "Shush you…" He turned to Yuugi with a smile. "Do not worry Yuugi. I know Yami doesn't look like it or act like it, but I think he was a little shy about being with you. I think if you set up another meeting, he might open up more."

"Then again Yami never was an open person…" Ethan thought out loud as he looked at Yuugi and his brothers. "We are his children and we do not know much about him except that he is one of the first vampires and is five thousand years old."

"Five thousand years old?" Yuugi asked in disbelief with widen eyes. "I had no idea he was that old. I thought maybe he was only a couple hundred years older than you all."

Taylor shook his head. "Our father told us he came from a time back in Ancient Egypt when pharaohs ruled. We would ask him questions about his past trying to get to know him better, but he would tell us he did not wish to share his past."

Yuugi sat there thinking things over. He did not want to pry into Yami's past life, but he could have at least mentioned his age. If a relationship was going to form between the two of them, Yami would need to be honest about some things and that meant opening up to Yuugi. He had a feeling it was going to take a lot of time to understand the King of the city and get to know the real him.

* * *

Saturday morning Yuugi woke up early so he could put his plan into action. After his little chat with Jason, Ethan, and Taylor he took it upon himself to plan a get together with Yami so they could hang out and really get to know each other. Yuugi was going to let Yami know if he did not want to talk about his past that was fine, but he wanted to know about the Yami of the present. They would be able to do more together if Yuugi knew Yami's likes, dislikes, and anything else important. This would be Yuugi's first relationship with a vampire if things worked out and he kind of wanted it to.

He arrived at the palace a quarter till ten so that Yami had had plenty of time to get up, eat breakfast, and get dressed for the day. Yuugi had called Yami the night before about the plans and Yami had a hint of excitement in his voice.

The plans for the day were simple. The first part of the morning would be spent taking a morning walk in the park and communicating with each other. Then they would find a nice little place to eat lunch or in Yami's case drink blood. If Yuugi found out something Yami liked to do from their morning walk, then they would do something Yami liked to do. Dinner would be the last thing on their list if they weren't tired from the day.

When Yuugi pulled up he found Yami standing outside the palace by himself. No children or guards in site. Once he parked the car, he got out and greeted Yami with a shake of hands. "It's nice to see you again Yami."

Yami may or may not have smiled at Yuugi, but it was hard to tell with him wearing the black mask again. That was the one thing that frustrated Yuugi the most. He could not read Yami's face when he wore the mask.

"It's nice to see you too Yuugi. I understand we have a full day ahead of us."

Yuugi nodded. "I hope you do not mind me driving."

By his body language Yuugi was able to tell Yami was a little uneasy as he looked at Yuugi's truck.

"Is something wrong?" Yuugi asked concern lacing his voice.

Yami rubbed the back of his head and it was easy to tell he looked a little embarrassed. "It's not something I like to admit."

Yuugi decided to be brave and walked up to Yami. He lightly placed his hand on Yami's bare arm. It was then Yuugi took note of what Yami was wearing. The King wore his usually black leather pants and combat boots with a crimson muscle shirt and a black jacket with no sleeves. The jacket was long and went pass his waist. Yuugi's outfit was similar with the leather pants, but he wore his sneakers and a dark purple shirt with mesh sleeves.

The King looked down at the hand on his arm and then back at Yuugi's face. Yuugi's face was so breath taking with that concern look in his eyes.

"Yami if anything is going to happen between us you have to be honest with me. If you are uncomfortable about something please tell me." Yuugi pleaded.

There was a sigh and Yami's shoulders slumped. "I have a slight fear of motor vehicles."

Yuugi smiled. "I'm surprised I did not figure that out after the way you acted when riding in the Taylor's truck." He patted Yami's arm before wrapping his arm around it. "Do you have another form of transportation we can take? I want you to be comfortable."

"I do, but I do not wish you embarrass you."

"How will I know it will embarrass me if I have not seen it?" Yuugi asked gently.

* * *

Yuugi's face was red… strike that… Yuugi's face was a new shade of dark red never even thought of. They were riding through the city in a horse draw carriage. Yami was laid back and relaxing while someone else drove the carriage. Yuugi sat beside him trying to hide his face in Yami's shoulder. People would stop on the sidewalks and stare before moving along.

Yami let a chuckle out. "I told you it might embarrass you."

"I did not think it would be this bad. People are staring at us."

The King wrapped an arm around Yuugi. "I believe they are mostly staring at me then what you are riding in. It's not all the time I come into town."

Yuugi looked up at Yami. "You never did tell me why you do not like motor vehicles. I might be able to help that way I can drive you around town."

"I come from a time when motor vehicles were not even thought of. I always traveled by carriage and I guess I never caught on to some of the new inventions of the world. The one time I did let Taylor drive me somewhere I grew terrified of the vehicles. They went too fast for my liking and I considered them metal death traps."

Out of nowhere Yuugi cuddled up to Yami in a way to comfort him. "As long as you're honest with me I will never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable, but we will need to figure out a new way to get places besides my truck and this carriage."

"I'm sure we will figure out something." Yami said. He enjoyed the feel of Yuugi being next to him and he knew he would not tire of it.

* * *

Sakura: So…Yami and Yuugi are getting close and next time we will look into a few dates they go on…I think that is about all I need to say…Yumi do your job….

Yumi: Remember Sakura is starting her second year of college this Monday and will be taking a week off from writing to get used to her classes….with that said Review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **EXTREMELY SORRY! I should have updated this chapter a LONG time ago, but I got lazy and updated Truth or Dare like crazy! From now \on I will make a schedule and every other week I will try and update this story at least once. Believe me once winter break comes up I will get more chapters for this story out… or at least I hope so…

I would also like to thank **s2Teennovelist** for helping me with ideas for this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Dates**

Can we make this relationship work?

* * *

The crisp clean air of the morning put Yuugi in a really good mood. He and Yami had just exited the carriage when they arrived at the park in the middle of Vampire City. The grass was a lush green color and glinted with the morning dew. Trees of different types were planted in random areas around the park offering shade in the afternoon heat. No one was around so it was the perfect time to take a morning walk.

The two chose a path and started their walk with the peace and quiet around them. As they walked Yami would take a glance at Yuugi, but when Yuugi looked his way he would turn his head the other way. Yuugi giggled every time Yami did that and reach out to take Yami's hand. "Lighten up a little. I want you to have a good time today."

Yami squeezed Yuugi's hand. "I'll try, but…well…" He kept trying to explain something to Yuugi, but he wasn't sure how to explain it.

"Take your time Yami," Yuugi reassured him. "If you're not ready to tell me that is fine."

Yami sighed and looked down at his feet. "Yuugi, would you believe me if I told you I have never had a real relationship before…"

Yuugi stopped their walk when they reached a fountain that was in the middle of the park. The fountain was a beautiful marble piece of art with two angels on the top with water coming out of their mouths. Yuugi took a seat on the edge of the fountain and patted the spot next to him.

Yami sat down beside Yuugi and looked at the water behind them. He reached his hand out and dipped his fingers in the water to created small ripples.

"So…" Yuugi began. "You've never had a real relationship before."

"That would be correct." Yami replied.

Yuugi watched Yami move his fingers around in the water. "So even five thousand years ago you never had a wife or lover?" It took a few minutes before Yuugi realized what he said and covered his mouth with one of his hands.

Yami looked toward Yuugi, but with the mask it was once again hard to tell what he was feeling. "Who told you I was five thousand years old?"

Reaching behind his head Yuugi scratched a non-existing itch in nervousness. "Ethan let it slip how old you were." He bowed his head. "I'm really sorry if you didn't want me to know. Please don't be mad at Ethan."

Yami's chuckle made Yuugi look up. "I'm not mad at Ethan. It isn't really a secret how old I am. I guess I just didn't want you to freak out that you might be dating an old man."

"I can at least say you look good for your age." Yuugi said with a small laugh.

Before long both were laughing and having a good time. They spent the rest of the time after they calm down talking about different things and Yami even opened up some about some of the things he liked and disliked. Yuugi decided he would try later in the afternoon and see if Yami would open up some about his past.

* * *

As the day process on lunch time rolled around and the two found a nice little café to stop at for lunch. Yuugi ordered himself a grilled cheese with ham and tomato and a hot chocolate as a drink. Yami didn't order anything, but as a gentleman he paid for Yuugi's meal. They waited at the counter for Yuugi's meal and after it was given to them they found a table outside on the front patio to enjoy the nice day.

People walking around shopping would stop and stare in amazement as the King and Yuugi talked and laughed, before smiling then moving on. A few elders would stop and bid their King a good day before moving on.

Yuugi held half of his sandwich out to Yami. "Are you sure you don't want any?"

Yami shook his head and push the half back toward Yuugi. "No Yuugi I am perfectly fine. I drank some blood this morning, so I'm full."

Yuugi dropped the half back on his plate and drank some of his drink. "So... Is there something you have in mind that we can do after lunch?"

Yami crossed his arms across his chest and looked toward the street as if in thought. "I normally do anything my children love to do."

"I'm sure there is something you like to do?"

"Well…" There was uncertainty in Yami's voice. "There is one thing I do like to do that my children find a little boring."

* * *

After lunch Yami lead Yuugi down to the local theatre. At first when Yami mentioned he liked to go to the theater, Yuugi thought a movie theatre. He realized he was completely wrong when they stopped in front of a theatre for plays and dramas.

The ticket booth outside listed two plays being played this week and the times at which each showing would be. The two choices were _Phantom of the Opera_ or _Romeo and Juliet_. On that day _Phantom of the Opera _was being showed at two which was in thirty minutes and _Romeo and Juliet_ was being showed later that day around six.

"I'll understand if you don't want to go see a play…" Yami said to reassure Yuugi that he didn't have to do something he didn't want to.

Yuugi shook his head. "No this sounds like a good idea and it's something you like to do. I saw a few of my high school's plays, but never one done in a real theatre with real actors. "He said with a smile Yami's way. "We never know I might enjoy this and want to come back again some time."

"So which play would you like to see?"

Yuugi thought it over for a little while. He had seen Romeo and Juliet many of times on TV and the plays from his high school. "I think _Phantom of the Opera_ would be a good pick. Plus it starts in thirty minutes so we have plenty of time to get good seats. Then after the show we can grab some dinner before calling it a day."

Yami reached out to grab Yuugi's hand and intertwined their fingers. "Sounds like a plan." He led Yuugi to the ticket booth and was able to easily get tickets for the show, before heading inside. They showed their tickets to the lady at the double doors leading inside to where all the seats and stage were. Once she let them pass, they stepped inside and Yami lightly pulled Yuugi to the left and up some stairs.

On the second floor they passed by many doors before stopping at one that was labeled '_King Booth'. _Yami opened the door and like a gentlemen allowed Yuugi to enter first before he entered and shut the door.

It was a small balcony room with a circular couch and velvet curtains parted so the play down below could be viewed. Yuugi walked over and looked down to see they had the best view in the house of the stage. Of course the curtains on stage were closed so nothing was to be seen at the moment.

When he turned around he saw Yami was reclined on the couch with his arms crossed.

Yuugi approached him and sat down beside him. "So how are we going to see the play while sitting down?" He asked when he realized the stage wasn't visible to them while sitting down.

Yami pointed to two flat screen televisions mounted to the each wall beside them. "We may view the play from the televisions or I can get us some chairs to enjoy it from the balcony."

Yuugi relaxed against Yami and looked up at him. "You thought of everything when having this room built didn't you?" Yuugi teased.

"Who says I had it built for me?" Yami teased right back.

After they enjoyed another small laugh, they talked about more trivial things until the play started. Once it started up the televisions in the room came on and the play began. As the play played out, Yuugi would change from watching the TV to going to the balcony and looked down at the stage. Sometimes Yami would even join him.

By the time the play ended and Yami and Yuugi were able to grab themselves a quick dinner before heading back to the palace. Yuugi had to admit to Yami that he had a wonderful time and would like to hang out with him again soon. Once back at the palace, Yami saw Yuugi to his truck and made sure he drove away safety before going inside to check on his children. There was no telling what troubles they got into while he was away.

Yuugi had a smile on his face the whole way home as he thought about the amazing time he had with Yami.

* * *

Two weeks few by in no time and September turned into October. The weather began to change from mild warm to a slight chilly. Yuugi had to pull out his jackets and put one on each morning before going into work. Other than the weather turning cold putting Yuugi down, everything else kept Yuugi's spirits up. His job at the shop was great and he was quickly getting the hang of it. Yami was impressed with him because the shop was getting more business since Yuugi started running it.

Speaking of Yami, Yuugi and Yami's relationship had taken a good turn. The first week into October the two made the decision to start dating and the children couldn't have been happier. They thought it would be months before Yuugi and Yami started to date.

That leads Yuugi to the moment he is in right now; sitting at work with Ethan and Taylor trying to think of something for him and Yami to do on their first date. It was currently a Wednesday and Yami and Yugi planned to go out that Saturday.

"You could always go to a movie and dinner?" Taylor suggested while sitting on the counter.

Yuugi shook his head and took a seat on the stool behind the counter. He had just gotten done with helping a customer with an item they bought.

Ethan rolled his eyes at his lover. "That would be something you would plan for you and I."

Taylor stuck out his tongue.

Yuugi crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. "I want it to be special, but not too over the top. I've had many dates before, but Yami told me he hasn't dated anyone before." He said before opening his eyes back up. "I just have no idea want we could do."

"What did you do with some of your other dates?" Ethan asked.

Yuugi sighed. "They didn't last very long, but when I was dating someone we did simple things. Sometimes we would hang out like normal teenagers would and then sometimes we would do something romantic like dinner and a night walk in the park."

Taylor grinned. "What was the longest you dated someone?" He asked with sly look in his eyes.

Ethan narrowed his eyes at Taylor before hitting him on the head. "That is none of your business Taylor."

Yuugi chuckled at the two, but answered Taylor's question anyway. "The longest I dated someone was for a year. We dated my sophomore year of high school. It was a boy who I had been friends with since middle school and he knew how to treat me right. I thought he might be the one I would spend my life with, but then he got in a car crash and died. It took the longest time for me to get over it. After him anyone else I dated it was only for a week to a month, but no one made it pass a month before we broke up." He smiled slightly in memory of the boy. "I finally stopped dating when I moved to Cairo for college. I decided to focus on my work and get my degree before trying to find that special someone to settle down with."

"Oh…" Taylor said with his head bow. "Sorry for meddling…"

"It's alright…" Yuugi reassured him. "I think I'm finally starting to move on and it's nice to be dating again."

"Alright then…" Ethan pulled out some paper and a pen. "Let's get back to work and figure out the perfect date."

So the rest of the afternoon was spent trying to figure out the perfect first date for Yuugi and Yami.

* * *

Saturday picked to come quickly that week and before Yuugi knew it he was standing in the large foyer of the palace waiting on Yami to come down. It was currently one in the afternoon which was great for what Yuugi had planned. The first part of the date would be going to the park for a nice picnic, and then the rest of the date was a surprise from Yami. Yuugi kept drawing blanks about what to do after the picnic so Friday afternoon he called up Yami for some ideas. Yami informed him that he would plan the rest of the date and it would be a surprise for Yuugi.

Yuugi was dressed in blue jeans, a long sleeve white shirt with a black vest, and sneakers which was good for the type of weather they were having that day. It was chilly because of the wind, but with the sun it was just warm enough to get by without a jacket.

He only had to wait a few more minutes, before Yami finally came down. Yami was dressed in his normal black leather pants and combat boots, along with a white muscle shirt, and a leather jacket. He wore his bandages instead of the mask that day, which was something different to Yuugi.

"No mask today?" Yuugi asked with a sweet smile.

Yami chuckled. "No, I decided to leave it off today. We are going on a picnic after all and I might be required to eat." He teased while wrapping an arm around Yuugi's waist.

Yuugi snuggled into Yami's side and breathe in the spicy dessert scent that was the Vampire King. He had to admit to himself that, Yami's scent had to have been one of the things Yuugi liked about him.

Someone cleared their throat and Yuugi and Yami broke apart, with light blushes on their faces, well Yuugi had a blush, no one could tell on Yami if he was blushing or not.

Ethan smiled at the two and handed his father the picnic basket he packed. "Hope you two have a great time. I'll make sure to keep everyone around here in line while you are gone father."

Yami took the basket and smiled at his son. "Make sure you do that or no one knows what trouble Jason and Taylor will get into."

"Don't we know it…" Ethan replied. He waved at the two before hurrying back down the hallway he came.

Yami rewrapped his arm around Yuugi's waist and stirred him toward the door. "Shall we begin our first date?"

Yuugi agreed. "We shall."

* * *

By the end of the date, it was easy to tell Yuugi and Yami had become even closer. Yuugi was really starting to fall for Yami and his gentleman like charm. Yami was falling for Yuugi's kindness and beauty. When they returned back to the palace it was late into the night around eight. The sky was dark and the stars were shining brightly.

Yami kissed Yuugi's hand and wished him a goodnight, before seeing him off. Yuugi drove home with another big smile on his face like everytime after he got done seeing Yami. He honestly couldn't wait until the next date.

* * *

By the end of October, Yuugi and Yami had gone on enough dates to consider each other lovers or at least boyfriends. Taylor, Ethan, and Jason found themselves spending more time with Yuugi and thanks to Yuugi they found themselves spending more time with their father. Chan and Kotaro loved having Yuugi around because Yuugi was almost like a mother to them. It happened to be Halloween weekend when Yami asked Yuugi on another date. Yuugi had wanted to help Yami plan the date, but Yami told him he would find out what they were doing on that day.

So when Sunday October thirty first rolled around Yuugi arrived at the palace on time around five just before the sun would start to go down. Yami was there to welcome Yuugi and let him join in on dinner with him and his family, before his kids were going to go out and enjoy the scary holiday.

The dinner was simple with some small talk before the children, minus Jiro, got too anxious and ventured out of the house early. Jiro excused himself from the table when his siblings left. With all the children gone, Yuugi and Yami had the whole room to themselves.

Yami finished off the remaining blood in his goblet before turning to Yuugi with a smile on his bandaged covered face. "Yuugi, would you like to take a stroll with me out in my garden?"

Yuugi wiped his mouth to get rid of any food stuck to his face, before nodding his head. He took Yami's hand when it was offered to him and let Yami led him toward his garden. While Yami was dressed in a long white turtle neck and black dress pants to keep himself warm in the cold night, Yuugi had dressed himself in blue jeans and a dark purple t-shirt with a black cat on it. Before they walked past the double doors into the garden, Yami wrapped Yuugi up in a cloak, since he left his jacket in the foyer on a coat rack. The cold wouldn't affect Yami, seeing as he was technically dead, but it would however affect Yuugi.

As they walked outside into the newly darkening sky, Yuugi took note of how dead the garden looked. Bushes were all dried up with their flowers all gone and dead and the paths they walked were littered with dead leaves which had fallen from the bare trees. In the middle of the dying garden was a fountain, but no water was running in it and it looked like it had been dried out for a while.

They both took a seat on a bench that had a nice view of the whole garden. Yami wrapped his arm around Yuugi's waist. "You know I used to think this garden represent me in every way. It was once lush and beautiful before it began to die away. I first had this garden built for my children, but over time I stopped looking after it and let it die. It was much easier to let it die away then keep it beautiful."

Yuugi looked up at Yami confused. "Are you trying to say you are not beautiful?"

Yami looked down at Yuugi and Yuugi was surprised to see that the one crimson eye he could see held sadness.

"I used to believe that. For the longest time I saw myself as a monster with nothing to live on for. I love my family very much, but in my heart I felt like they weren't enough to feel the emptiness. I felt I needed someone in my life that could show me that I'm not the monster some people see me as." Yami spoke with such sadness and pain in his voice.

Yuugi felt like crying when he heard Yami talk like that. He reached up and placed one of his hands on Yami cheek. They sat their staring at each other for the next few minutes, before Yuugi got brave and lead up with his head titled just enough so he could brush his lips against Yami's.

Yami's brain seemed to have shut down because all he could do was sit there with this look of shock on his face. It was a simple first kiss between the two of them, but it was enough to send shivers down Yami's spine.

When Yuugi broke away he had a smile on his face. "Yami you are beautiful in your own way. This garden no longer represents you. The Yami I see is handsome, charming, caring, and the list can go on and on."

A slight smile appeared on Yami's face. "I'm so happy to have found someone as loving and caring as you Yuugi."

Yuugi smiled back up at him. "I'm also glad to have found someone as wonderful as you."

The two shared another short kiss, before they broke apart. Yami reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. The necklace was a palm size flower pendent on a silver chain. The flower itself was beautiful to be hold with its crystal like crimson petals with some black mixed in.

Yami looped the chain around Yuugi's head and let the flower rest on his chest. "I was waiting for the right moment to give it to you." Yami explained as he watched Yuugi admire it. "I would like you to wear it as a symbol of our love."

"It's gorgeous…" Yuugi whispered to himself. He looked up at Yami before wrapping his arms around Yami's neck. "Thank you so much. I promise to take good care of it."

Yami hugged Yuugi back before pulling back just enough to kiss Yuugi's forehead. "I really want this relationship to work for the two of us, because I feel like I'm falling in love with you."

"Me too Yami, I think I'm falling for you too." Yuugi whispered to Yami.

They spent the rest of the evening in each other's arms relishing in the blossoming relationship they had.

* * *

Sakura: Just to clarity at the end. Yuugi and Yami have not said 'I love you' yet in their relationship that is why Yami and Yuugi said they think they are in love with each other. I haven't decided yet when they will say those three little words.

This chapter was the kick start of Yuugi and Yami's relationship. The rest of the story will pick up and we will start to learn about Yami's past.

Also before my readers go crazy on me, YES, next chapter everyone will learn why Yami wears a mask. I'm sure everyone is ready to find out the truth behind the mask and bandages.

Yumi: With all that said… Review!


	10. Chapter 10

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **Honestly took me forever to get this chapter right, but I finally got it to go the way I wanted it to. I'm also in a Christmas mood, so I decided to add a little Christmas in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Winter Ball**

A special time to spend with friends and family

* * *

Winter snow of about two inches covered Vampire city over night and with it a rather cold wind. The human citizens of the city bundled up in warm clothes just to go outside, while the vampires wore what they wanted. The cold did not affect them at all.

Frost glisten on the window of all the house including the house belonging to Yuugi. The curtains were open for the living room downstairs so it was easy to see the owner of the house in the house curled up on the couch. He had a blanket wrapped around him as he laid on the couch and two tan arms wrapped around his waist.

A sigh escape Yuugi's mouth before he yawned and slowly opened his eyes. The first site that met his line of blurry vision was the TV that was currently still on and showing the ten o'clock news. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes before trying to sit up.

The arms around his waist stopped him in his tracks, so he turned his head to see the sleeping face of his boyfriend. It was easy to tell the King was asleep because he was wearing the bandages that day and the one eye that was seen was closed. That and his breaths were nice and even, plus he was rather relaxed.

A smile found its way onto Yuugi's face as he remembered last night. He had invited Yami over to his place for the first time for a nice dinner. After dinner they had dessert and watched a Christmas movie that happened to be on. Seems they both fall asleep within the late hour.

Yuugi looked up toward the door when he realized there was someone knocking on the door. That must have been what woke him up. He carefully moved Yami's arms before getting up and stumbling over the blanket toward the door.

When he opened it he was surprised to find Jason, Ethan, and Taylor on his door step. They all covered their mouths, and Yuugi was sure they were trying not to laugh.

"Rough night Yuugi," Taylor asked with a slight chuckle.

Yuugi looked down and blushed when he realized his clothes were a mess. His white shirt was untucked and the buttons were undone midway. His pants were falling off his hips a little since he wasn't wearing a belt. He was also sure his hair looked like a tangled mess.

"Shut up!" Yuugi exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around himself. A breeze blew into the house causing a shiver.

Ethan noticed the shiver, so instead of taking up too much of Yuugi's time he got right to the point. "We came to see if you had seen our father. He did not come down to breakfast and we check his room."

Yuugi took a glance at the couch, before shaking his head. "Sorry no I have not. He left right after dinner with me, so maybe this morning he went out on an early stroll thru the town." He said with a straight face. There was no way he was going to let them know Yami spent the night. It would only give them another reason to tease him.

The three brothers sighed, before Jason spoke up next. "Let us know if you see him."

Yuugi agreed and nodded his head before closing the door. He waited a few minutes before going over to the window and seeing the three boys walked down the street talking. Letting out a sigh of his own Yuugi closed the curtains, before returning to Yami.

He gently shook his boyfriend awake, who was definitely not a morning person. Yami grumbled something about five more minutes then fell back asleep. Yuugi sat down on the couch he thought for a minute until an idea hit him.

With a slight smirk on his face, Yuugi leaned down and lightly kissed his lover. Once Yami started to kiss back did Yuugi pull away to see a very awake vampire.

Yami let out a yawn before sitting up. He rubbed the back of his head and looked around the room. "Where am I?"

Yuugi let out a giggle and snuggled up next to Yami. "We must have fallen asleep during the movie, because you are still at my house." He answered wrapping his arms around Yami's neck.

Yami seemed happy with that answer; because he leaned down and gave Yuugi a rather long good morning kiss.

When they finally broke for air, Yuugi explained to him that his sons were looking for him. "I told them that you were probably taking a stroll around town. I did not want them to know you had spent the night."

Yami let out a chuckle and started teasing Yuugi with light kisses. "Embarrassed for them to know we might have done something last night."

A bright red blush colored Yuugi's cheeks at those words. "We did nothing of the sort and yes I did not want their minds to go straight to the gutter." He shot back while punching his boyfriend in the arm.

"I think you are the one with the mind in the gutter." Yami replied with a sly smirk.

Rolling his eyes Yuugi pulled himself away from Yami and stood up. "Anyway you should probably be heading home before they call a search party for you."

Yami sighed and stood up as well. He was still dressed in his clothes from yesterday which was a pair of black jeans and a brown t-shirt. "I am beginning to wonder if they are the parents and I'm the child."

That got a laugh out of Yuugi while he pushed Yami toward the door. "You need to get going now and I'll talk to you later alright."

Just before Yami walked out the door, he stole a quick kiss and then left. Yuugi watched Yami walked down the street for a few minutes, before closing the door and leading against it with a dreamy smile on his face. Life was good for now.

* * *

As the month of December went by the snow did not let up. It was even heard on the local morning news that there was a prediction for even more snow on Christmas. So sadly enough five days before Christmas found Yuugi inside his shop going over inventory, while trying to stay warm from the cold snow outside. He planned on working up until the twenty third and then taking off until the twenty seventh. As he formed his vacation plan he figured not many people would want to come to his shop on Christmas Eve or Christmas day. One landed on a Friday and the other on a Saturday, so he planned to go ahead and take that Sunday off to do some cleaning around his house.

Hearing the bell above the door ring, Yuugi stood up from his position sitting on the floor behind a self to greet the costumer. He was rather surprised to find that instead of a costumer it was his charming boyfriend.

Yami offered him a smile and went to lean against the front counter. As Yuugi took in his appearance he could tell Yami was not dressed for winter. He wore no shoes, tan pants, a crimson polo shirt with the first two buttons of the three undone, and the normal bandages around his face. Ever since they started to date, Yami had been wearing the bandages more and the mask less. In a way Yuugi liked it, because the mask still creeped him out a bit.

Yuugi moved from behind the self and approached Yami. Instead of going into his boyfriend's waiting arms, he moved passed him and went behind the counter. Putting his clipboard away he jumped up on his stool and stared at Yami across the counter.

"So what do I owe this fine visit?" He asked with a curious look on his face.

"I thought I'd drop in and say hi. Maybe take you out to lunch. Is it so bad for me to come visit you at work?" Yami replied with this fake look of hurt on his face.

Yuugi sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" He mumbled to himself, but said out loud. "I like the lunch idea, but isn't it a little cold to be getting out to go eat. I would not have mind you bringing me something."

"I could go do that." Yami stood up. "Honestly to a vampire like me the snow feels nice, but then again I forget you are human and the cold is a little harder on you."

Yuugi shook his head. "No that is alright. I've been doing inventory all morning and it might be nice to get out for an hour or two." He picked his coat and scarf up off hook behind the counter and put it on.

Once Yuugi was wrapped up in his warm clothes the two headed out into the winter weather to look for a place to eat, after Yuugi locked up the shop.

* * *

The two found themselves at a nice vampire/human restaurant just up the street and were seated quicker than normal people would have been seated during the lunch rush. A shy waitress took their drink and food order, before leaving them to themselves.

Yuugi watched the young girl walk away. "Either one of us is cute or she is scared of you…" He pointed out after noticing how she had trouble talking to them.

Yami let out a chuckle. "I hope she is scared of me, because there is going to be a fight if she comes onto you. I can't have someone thinking they can come onto my lovely, beautiful, adorable, lover."

Yuugi could not stop the blush that covered his cheeks. "Stop it you are embarrassing me…"

The waitress came back with their drinks before disappearing again.

After she was gone, Yami reached across the table and grabbed one of Yugi's soft hands in his. "Yuugi, there was one main reason why I wanted to come see you today."

Yuugi took in Yami's serious face and listened up.

"I was wondering if you would be so kind as to join me as my date to the coming up winter ball." He asked with a gentle smile on his face.

Yuugi was confused. "Winter ball…?"

"It's an event held at my palace every year on Christmas day night. People who have lived here for a while all know about it, but for those who just moved here we send invites to their houses to let them know about it. I did not have yours mailed because I wanted to invite you personally."

Yuugi let out a smile. "That is so sweet of you. Instead of just assuming I would go with you because we were dating you asked me. I know a good few people who would never think of doing that."

Yami kissed the hand he held. "So is that a yes or no?"

"That's a yes." Yuugi said as he lean across the table and gave Yami a quick kiss.

* * *

It seemed the week went by quickly after that and before long it was Saturday December twenty fifth the day of the Winter Ball. The Thursday of the twenty third, Yuugi and Yami spent the day out shopping looking for the perfect outfit for Yuugi. The event was a formal event, but the people could wear casual if they wanted to. Since Yami was going to be dressed up Yuugi wanted to look good next to him. He was sure by now everyone knew he was dating the King, but Yuugi wanted to make sure he did not embarrass Yami.

Yuugi currently stood in front of his floor to ceiling length mirror in his bedroom looking at himself in his outfit. It was four o'clock and he had an hour to finish getting ready before he had to leave.

"I almost look like a girl." Yuugi said with a sigh. "But I guess it will have to do sense Yami picked it out. I would hate to upset him by not wearing it."

The clothes he had on was a beautiful one piece cloak type outfit. The bottom of the outfit flared out like bell bottoms around his feet and from the waist up to keep the outfit closed were belt buckles of a silver color. There was a black belt around his waist to give the outfit some color since his slippers were also white. He also wore a black tank top underneath since the top of the outfit was in the form of a small V-neck.

Yuugi pulled his hair back into a low spikey ponytail, so his bangs framed his face more. Black eyeliner was then used on his eyes to make the amethyst in his eyes stand out more. He then put on his rose necklace that Yami gave him and he wore every day.

Lastly before leaving his room Yuugi put the hood of the outfit over his head, but not enough to cover his face.

The wait downstairs on the couch was not long because with in twenty minutes someone came knocking on his door. When he answered the door he found Taylor on his door step in a cheesy butler outfit.

"Good evening sir, your limo awaits…" Taylor said with a bow.

Yuugi had to try and hid his giggle, before stepping out of the house and locking the door. Taylor took him by the hand and led him toward a long limo. He opened the door and helped Yuugi in before going all the way to the front and getting in the driver seat. After he got the limo started the two were off to the ball, like an old fashion fairy tale.

* * *

The King was in the foyer with his children when Yuugi arrived. They waited on Taylor to get changed and it gave Yuugi time to take in what everyone was wearing.

Ethan was wearing a pair of black dress shoes, black dress pants, and a green polo shirt with the first button of third undone.

Jiro wore a pair of black dress shoes, tan dress pants, and a black turtle neck shirt. His hair was pulled back into a low ponytail.

Jason wore a pair of brown dress shoes, tan dress pants, and a dark brown dress shirt with a black vest.

Kotaro wore a cute little suit that was navy blue with a white shirt and black dress shoes.

Chan wore a cute pink sun dress that went to her knees with a white collar and white slippers. Her hair was pulled into two pig tails with pink ribbon.

Yami was dressed in black dress shoes, black dress pants, and a long sleeve black button up shirt with a white vest. He also wore his mask on that night.

Taylor came back before long wearing the same thing as Ethan, but wore a navy blue polo shirt, instead of green.

Once everyone was together they walked down the long hallway and toward two large double doors. Inside music could be heard playing and a lot of chatter.

Yami knock on the door and after a minute everything went quiet. The two doors opened slowly and Taylor and Ethan were the first to walk in. Two guards that stood on either side announced their arrival, before they walked down some stairs into the main ball room. This went the same for all the children and before long it was Yuugi and Yami's turn.

The two stood at the top of the stairs and Yuugi looked down into a huge crowd of people. He gulped and could feel sweat begin to run down the back of his neck. Everyone's attention was on them which made Yuugi really nervous.

One of the guards announced them, before Yami led Yuugi down the stairs and when they got to the bottom the crowd of people divided on either side of a long red carpet that led to a large golden throne.

As they walked by all the people Yuugi could feel all kinds of eyes on him. He did not know if that was a good thing or bad. But he felt some relief when they reached the throne. Beside it was a large pillow big enough for someone to sit comfortable on it, along with other pillows around it. Yami helped Yuugi to sit down on it, before taking his seat on his throne.

"Begin the festivity!" Yami announced in a loud blooming voice so everyone could hear him.

The party started up again with the music and some people started to mingle and talk. Large groups of people in mostly black travelled into another room on the right side, while a mix of people travelled into a different room on the left.

Yuugi reached up and tapped Yami on the arm. The King turned his attention to his lover.

"What are those two rooms?" He asked while pointing them out.

The King looked to where Yuugi had pointed, before smiling down at Yuugi. "The one to the left is only for humans, no vampires allowed. The room to the right is for vampires only, no humans allowed. The room we are in allows vampires and humans to mingle together if they do not mind each other's company."

"Oh…" Was Yuugi's only reply since he probably could have figured that out on his own and with that question out of the way, Yuugi took the time to actually notice the style of the room.

The whole room was like an Egyptian throne room with hieroglyphs all over the walls. The only thing different was all the Christmas decorations put up and the tree that was not far from them on Yami's right side.

"Well Well Well what have we here…?"

Yuugi turned his head to see Yumi standing near them with a smirk on her face. Her fire red hair was pushed back by a black headband and two black hoops hung from her ears. Her outfit was a pair of black high heels, black dress pants, a crimson button down shirt, and a black vest.

Beside her was a beautiful young lady about a head shorter than Yumi close to Yuugi's height. She wore the same outfit as Yumi but her shirt was a dark purple. Her skin color was slightly paler than normal people which really looked good with her dark violet eyes. Her hair was raven black that went down to her waist and dark purple bangs that framed her face.

Yami rolled his eyes at his sister. "What do you want Yumi?"

Yumi faked hurt. "Dear brother I just wanted to see how you are doing this fine evening?"

The lady next to her reached out and popped Yumi upside the head. "Honey, stop lying to your brother and be nice."

Yumi nursed her poor head with a glare at her lover. "Bite me…" She mumbled with this pissed off look.

The woman beside her ignored it and turned to Yuugi with a sweet smile. "Excuse my 'lovely' wife, Yumi. She can be a hand full some times." She reached out her hand to Yuugi. "My name is Sakura Atemu."

Yuugi shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, my name is Yuugi Mutou."

Sakura let out a giggle and turned to the King. "You have caught yourself quite the looker, Yami. I'd hold on to him." She winked at him, before dragging Yumi off to the dance floor.

Yuugi sat there for a moment not sure what just happened.

"That was my half-sister Yumi and her wife Sakura. They are a rather odd couple, but for some reason go so well together." Yami explained.

"I met Yumi on my first day to the city while having dinner with the children, but this is my first time meeting Sakura." Yuugi said, while looking up at Yami.

Yami stood up and held out his hand for Yuugi, who took it and stood up. "There are some other people who I would like you to meet that you have not yet. It might be good for you to meet some of my friends since we are dating. They have been asking about you."

They walked away from the throne and into the crowd.

* * *

An hour into the party Yuugi had met quite a few good friends of Yami's. There was Bakura and his husband Ryou, both vampires. They both had white hair that went to their shoulders, but Bakura's was much wilder. Bakura had brown looking crimson eyes and tan skin, while Ryou had brown eyes and pale skin.

The next people he met were Marik and Malik, both vampire and married. It was nice to meet Malik and he even told him that his sister had helped him out a lot. Both were tan with dark violet eyes and dirty blonde hair that went to their shoulders. Marik had more spikey hair than Malik.

Then Yuugi met Seth and Kisara, another married vampire couple. Seth reminded Yuugi of his best friend's boyfriend Seto. He had shaggy dark brown hair and icy blue eyes, but unlike Seto he had tan skin and also was nicer to people. Kisara was a petite female about only a head taller than Yuugi, with mid back long white hair and icy blue eyes, along with pale skin.

Before meeting everyone else Yami wanted him to meet, Yuugi excused himself from Yami's side to get to the refreshment table. He looked at the selection and found a good amount of finger food on one long table. Grabbing a plate Yuugi grabbed a few pieces of sliced fruit and some chicken nuggets. Just as he was about to grab a thing of punch, a hand blocked his path.

Looking up Yuugi found a rather tall looking male smiling down at him. He had long dark green hair and bright golden eyes. If the eyes did not give it away Yugi was sure the fangs would that this guy was a vampire.

"What a lovely being I just spotted…" He spoke in what he must have thought was a sexy voice.

Yuugi cleared his throat and reached for a different cup of punch. "Excuse me…"

However before he could grab the cup a hand grabbed his wrist. "Why don't you and I find a nice dark corner to spend some quality time in?" He leaned closer to Yuugi's face causing Yuugi to lean his head back to get away. His hood on his outfit fell because of how far he leaned back.

"I really must be getting back to my date…" Yuugi said in a hopefully sounding brave voice while pulling for his wrist to be free.

"Don't be that way… I'm sure I'm…"

The guy was interrupted however by a hand grabbing his wrist and breaking it. The vampire let go with a yelp and held his broken wrist close to him.

Ryou looked at the vampire with cold dark eyes that would send a chill down anyone's back. "I suggest you leave, before the King finds out you were messing with his lover."

Kisara and Malik were behind him with cold eyes looking at him to.

The green hair vampire growled before walking away. He knew a losing battle when he saw it.

Once he was gone Ryou turned gentle eyes to Yuugi and held his wrist. "He did not hurt you did he?"

Yuugi looked at his wrist that had a slight bruise forming. "Besides holding my wrist too tightly that was about it."

Kisara took a moment to look at Yuugi's wrist and patted his shoulder. "It will heal in a day or two with some ice. I would suggest you do not let Yami see it or he will have a fit."

Ryou tore the short sleeve of his white dress and wrapped the cloth around Yuugi's bruising wrist. "Keep this on it until you get home and keep your sleeves down. The King is having a good time tonight and I would hate for him to ruin his own party with a vampire hunt."

"One scent of another vampire on Yuugi that isn't one of us will have him on a vampire hunt." Malik pointed out.

Kisara pulled out some perfume and sprayed some on Yuugi. "There that will mask the scent for the time being until Yuugi can get a shower."

Yuugi smiled at each one of them. "Thanks so much for helping me out."

Ryou grinned at him. "Any friend of Yami's is a friend of ours."

In a way that lifted Yuugi's heart to know that after living for four months in this city that he had such a large group of friends who would look after him.

* * *

When eight o'clock rolled around everyone started to file out of the palace. Servants stored away food that had not been eaten while others cleaned up the rooms the best they could until they could do better cleaning in the morning.

Yuugi and Yami with the children stood in the foyer seeing people out until they were all gone. That took about an hour and then the children went off to bed.

When it was just Yuugi and Yami in the foyer, Yuugi wrapped his arms around Yami's neck. "I had a wonderful time. Thank you for inviting me."

Besides the little incident with the vampire at the refreshment table, Yuugi had no other problems that night and really did have a good time.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself so much. I'll be sure to invite you to any other ball we have."

The two stood like that for a while, before Yuugi let go of Yami. "So do I get a good night kiss, before you take me home?"

Yami nodded and turned to leave. "Give me a minute to change." But before Yami could leave Yuugi grabbed his hand.

"Wait…" He said and waited until he got Yami's full attention. "Why won't you just lift up the mask and kiss me?"

Yami sighed and turned to Yuugi. "I can't Yuugi. Please try and understand."

Yuugi stomped his foot and crossed his arms. "I've tried to understand. I know you haven't really opened up about your past, but why can't I at least see the real you. We have been dating for three months now and I think it would be nice to see what you look like."

Yami turned his head away from Yuugi, which caused Yuugi to frown.

"Fine, take me home and we can forget the kiss. I thought we would not keep secrets from each other. I've tried to be patience and let you decide when the right time is, but this is too long. What is it going to be a year into our relationship before I get to see your face?" Yuugi squeezed Yami's hand. "I promise I won't say a thing to anyone…"

Yami looked at him. "You really want to know?"

Yuugi nodded and before he could say anything, he was in Yami's arms bridal style and being carried off at a fast pace to Yami's chambers.

After they arrived there Yami opened the door, went in then closed the door with his foot. Yuugi was amazed by Yami's room, it huge with a gothic theme to it. He would have taken a better look around if Yami had not placed him on the huge bed built for ten people and quickly went to lock the door.

Yuugi turned his full attention to Yami when he returned and placed a hand on his mask. "Promise this will not change our relationship?"

"I promise Yami, I've fallen in love with you without seeing your face for this long. I do not think that will change." Yuugi said with a smile to reassure Yami.

With a sigh Yami carefully removed his mask and held it away from his face.

To say Yuugi was speechless was very true at that moment. Before him was a beautiful handsome face of the man he fell in love with. In his honest opinion he did not see a reason for Yami to hide his face. Then again they would need to look pass the many scars that littered Yami's would be perfect face.

His left eye had a long scar over it starting from just above his eyebrow to a little below his eye. Over his right cheek an x shape scar and across his nose was another scar. The left eye was a little cloudy looking in the pupil so either his sight was poor in that eye or he was blind.

Yami looked down at his feet after a minute. "This is the face of a monster…"

* * *

Sakura: The truth has been bought out!

Yumi: There was not much about his past…

Sakura: Uh… That all did not fit in so I changed it for next chapter. At least everyone gets to know what was behind the mask.

Yumi: That is true, plus Yuugi got some new friends and he got to meet your psycho butt

Sakura: Watch it or I'll do something even more embarrassing to you

Yumi: (sigh) Review!


	11. Chapter 11

**Small Note**

**Sakura**: The first update of the New Year! This chapter will mostly be about Yami's past, but I was able to fit in a little fluff.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**The Truth has Come Forth**

I do not care who you were…I care about who you are now

* * *

There was silence after Yami's statement, but somewhere in Yuugi's heart he did not believe it. Sometimes Yuugi could be considered naïve for believing there was good in everyone. The only ones he did not care to see any good in were the ones who could do wrong without any guilt…any remorse. Yami did not look like one of those people. Yuugi did not know much about his vampire lover's past, but there was something about him that would not let Yuugi believe he was a monster.

"Why?" was the small question asked from Yuugi after he got over the shock of Yami's face.

It seemed that Yami was not expecting that question by the surprise look on his face. "What do you mean why? You've seen my face… You should be running away…. Screaming at me…"

Yuugi stood up and walked closer to Yami. "I do not see any reason to do any of those things. The face I see is not perfect, but it's the face of someone I care for. Why is this face the face of a monster?"

Yami moved away from Yuugi and stood in front of the balcony doors. The moonlight drifted in lighting up Yami, making him look even more god like in Yuugi's eyes. It would have been a beautiful site if it was not for the distance sad look in Yami's eyes as he stared at the stars.

"I've killed countless lives in my younger days. I've lived for the thrill of watching people suffer and enjoy taking away their happiness. All my life people have hated me until I woke up from my murderous ways." He let out a bitter laugh and looked at Yuugi from the corner of his eye. "You know I was almost killed once three thousand years back. For two thousand years I ruled as a vampire with an iron fist until people got smart and learned a vampire's weakness. We are all different in our own way with how we can be killed…" He took a deep breath. "I thought I had no weakness and could never be killed. It was not until I was faced with death did I start to realize I was no immortal. It must have been a good laugh for the hunters to see me so weak begging for my life. I may have been this cruel ruler, but I was a baby when it came to death."

Yuugi approached Yami and placed his hand on Yami's arm. "Listen, a good amount of people are afraid of death. I'm one of them. It is something that happens that we cannot control."

Yami turned his head to look at Yuugi. "Five thousand years ago I was once the most powerful pharaoh in all of Egypt. People feared and hated me, but I loved it. Great powers threaten our land and I took it upon myself to grasp those powers and make them mine. I became this demon and got the wonderful taste of immortality that I wanted. No one could stop me. My council was so scared of me that they allowed me to change them into what I was so that they would always be by my side. No matter what the council was to remain loyal to their pharaoh or suffer death at my hands. Some of them had families and could not risk dying so they all agreed…"

"Who was your council?" Yuugi asked he was sure it had to be one of the people he met tonight.

The names slipped off Yami's tongue without delay. "Bakura, Marik, Seth, Carlisle, Mahado, Isis, and my own sister Yumi…" He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "Some of them you have not met, because they could not make it tonight."

"I'm sorry to get off the main topic, but who are Carlisle, Mahado, and Isis?"

"Carlisle is one of the first vampires who can change others by bite. He had just finished healing from a snake bite when he drank my blood to become a vampire. However I had nothing to worry from him, because he was always calm and in control of himself, his self-control always amazed me, because other vampires go out of their way to kill humans for blood. Carlisle is one of the few vampires who drink the blood of animals not human. I remember when he tried to talk me into drinking from animals I almost killed him for no reason at all except he was bugging me. I think the main reason he drinks from animals is because he changes by his bite and wants to avoid changing others." Yami explained. "Mahado was my right hand advisor, who no matter what stood by my side like Seth does. He always made sure I got my work done even as I tried to take over the world. No matter how mean I was he ignored that side of me and tried to care for me. Isis is his wife and Marik's older sister and she was like a mother to me when I was young…"

Yuugi looked on worried as Yami stopped after that and went back to staring at the sky. He was just about to say something to see if Yami was going to continue speaking when he spoke up again.

"I never knew my mother… she died while giving birth to me…" Yami said with a slight hurt tone in his voice. "People always told me she was a beautiful kind woman who cared for everyone like they were important. My father told me when I was little that I looked like her and he talked about her like she was his one and only love, until he got some whore pregnant and married her." His eyes narrowed at nothing. "Yumi's mother was nothing but a whore wanting to move up in power and my father did not see that. She never cared for me and Yumi like a mother should. Even had the guts to try and marry me when my father was killed so she could stay queen…"

A dark chuckle escaped Yami's mouth. "I took my time killing her after I became a vampire. She was so sure I would turn her and let her rule next to me. The look on her face was priceless as I came into her room that night the day I turned and she realized I was there to kill her. She even begged for her life and promised to serve me always. I also found out another truth that day…"

"What?"

Yami looked toward Yuugi again and Yuugi could see the unshed tears that wanted to fall. "She was the one who prisoned my father's drink that killed him." He leaned his head against the cool glass of the door and closed his eyes. "A servant caught her pouring something into his drink the night he died. My father always had a glass of beer before bed to ease the day away. It was the servant's job to do it, but my step-mother dismissed the servant and took care of it herself. I was about nineteen when it happened and after that the next day I was pharaoh and she was all over me. I made her tell me the truth before I killed her and she told me she did not love him and that she did not like the way he ruled. Kept telling me how soft he was and that he was not a real man."

Yuugi let the information sink in before wanting to know more. "How old were you when you turned into a vampire?"

"I was about twenty three when I turned. I ruled for three years before I turned into a monster. Even before I became a vampire I was cruel to my people. I have no idea if it was the trauma of my father's death or what… The only thing I know is that after his death I felt different. It was like I was all alone and I had to close my heart off so I would not be hurt anymore."

A hand reached up and brushed away Yami's tears that he had not realized were falling. Yuugi showed Yami a smile when he looked his way even if inside he was upset with all the pain Yami had to go through. "I will never know the pain you went through, but you had people who did care for you then and you have people who care for you now." Yuugi said as he laid a kiss to Yami's cheek. "No matter what you did in the past I will always care for you… I…"

Yami watched as emotions flickered in Yuugi's eyes, but the one that stood out most was love.

"I love you…" It was a simple whisper of the words, before Yuugi wrapped his arms around Yami's neck and kissed him gently. The kiss lasted only a minute and went nothing beyond two pair of lips pressed together.

Yami placed his hands on either side of Yuugi's face when they pulled apart and rested his forehead against the others. "I love you too…" He shared another kiss with Yuugi. "It means so much to me that you love me like I do to you."

Yuugi laughed a little in happiness smiling up at Yami. "I do love you Yami and I promise you will never feel alone again…"

After sharing one more kiss, Yami lead Yuugi over to the bed where they sat down together. For a while they sat together just enjoying the moment before more questions popped into Yuugi's head. Yuugi reached out and held Yami's hand in his. "Yami while we are talking about your past… What happened to your face for you to have all those scars?"

A sigh escaped Yami's mouth as he used his other hand and ran it through his hair. "It started back three thousand years ago when vampire hunters developed. As I created more vampires, there were priests who hated me and found ways to kill vampires. However nothing they did would work on me. They passed it off saying they wanted to test how strong I was and see how immortal I was. I was stupid to do that, because they found out I was weak against silver. It was the only thing that could harm me. It was not but a week later that a war started up between them and their army of hunters and me and my army of newly born vampires. It went on for a year, before I got cocky and one of the priests got me one good time in the chest during a raid of one of their camps."

He closed his eyes as pain flashed through them. "His sword was made of pure silver and the cut across my chest burned so much I went down with no problem. After that he kept attacking me with it over and over. Before finally Seth got to me and killed the guy. However the guy got one more shot at me before being killed." He opened his eyes and touched just below his left eye. "He missed my dead heart by a long shot and stabbed my eye. If he had stabbed me through the heart I would have died in no time and I'm honestly lucky to be alive since I had so much silver running through my veins."

For a moment Yuugi looked scared and looked down at his necklace that was on a silver chain. Yami chuckled and titled Yuugi's face back up. "That chain is made of fake silver and if it was made of real silver just touching it would not kill me. It might hurt a little, but not enough to do serious damage. Because of the attack I still have a small amount of silver running through my system. My immune to it has increased a small amount, but I could still be killed if stabbed in the heart." He explained to stop Yuugi's worry.

"That makes me feel better," Yuugi said with a sigh of relief. "So what happened after that?"

"My council rushed me back to the palace and Isis did her best to tend to my wounds. My army was able to capture the rest of the camp. They gave up after their leader died. Sadly, he was not the only leader out there running his own army. After that battle more leaders of a resistance came up and demanded I remove myself from the throne. I was weak and power hungry but I was not stupid. I knew if this war continued I would soon be killed. My council came up with this plan for me to step down of my rule over the humans and I could rule over the vampires in a new city." Yami let out a small growl. "Freaking idiots were not happy with that. They would only agree on a deal if the new city I ruled over was in a secret location under lock and key and they could also control it. I did not want to agree to the terms because we needed humans to survive."

"You had to come to some kind of agreement if this city exists…" Yuugi explained.

Yami nodded. "After a long talk with my council we came to the terms of living in our own city with humans who would willing give us blood to survive on. The priests agreed, but our city would need to be hidden and no vampire would ever be allowed to leave it. Two rules were made to ensure our city would be a good one for humans. One vampires are not allowed to leave this city, but humans may come and go as they wish and the second rule was that vampires are not allowed to change a human unless the human wants to be changed. After the rules were set in place and a year after I recovered a treaty was signed and plans for the city were made. To ensure the vampires were to stay in the city one of Carlisle's daughters, a rather powerful girl for her young age was to make a shield around this city to make sure no vampire could leave and portals would be made so humans could come and go as they wish. After that I was made to stay in my room on lock down while those priests ruled Egypt. It made me so mad at times, but my council calmed me down and kept telling me it was for the best. The vampires needed a strong leader and I did not need to let them down."

"One last question… how did humans continue to come here, because I had no idea this place even was around…" Yuugi stated that was the last thing that he wanted answered.

"At first it was only humans who were close to vampires or were lovers of vampires…" Yami began. "In later years leaders who guarded the portals into our city around the world started to advertise to their people about our race asking for volunteers who would like to serve us and donate blood. That was when either our humans turned into vampires or the humans under us would die of some disease or old age. Vampires are not a pretty site when they have gone more than a week without blood. If the leaders of the world did not want crazy blood thirsty vampires on their tails they had to find some people willing to donate blood to us. I came up with the plan to offer new lives to anyone who volunteered their blood and it was amazing how many people would come into my city wanting a new life. That has all changed now, because as the human population grew here, the less the human world as we like to call it, advertise our city. The only people now who know about the city are humans who have lived here or the people who now guard the portals and politician leaders."

Yuugi lay back on the bed as everything he learned sunk into his head. Everything about Yami's past had finally been explained and he could not help but feel sorry for his boyfriend. Yami went through so much pain and heartache. In Yuugi's eyes he was completely misunderstood by everyone.

Yami lay down beside Yuugi and combed his fingers through his hair. "You and my council are the only ones who know the complete story about my past life and I really would like it to stay that way."

Yuugi looked at him and wrapped his arms around Yami's neck. "I could understand from your children that they know very little about you." He gave Yami a peck on the lips. "I'm happy that you trust me enough to let me see this side of you. I want a secret free relationship with you."

Yami rubbed his nose with Yuugi's in an Eskimo kiss. "If you develop anymore questions for me about my past do not be afraid to ask."

Yuugi nodded. "Hey Yami since we are not keeping secrets from each other can I tell you something personal…"

"You can tell me anything you want as long as you want me to know about it…" Yami reassured him.

That seemed to be what Yuugi needed to hear. "I know you told me I was the first person you have dated, but I never told you that I have dated others before. Most did not last but a month or so, but I did have one relationship that lasted a year."

Yami could see the hurt in Yuugi's eyes and knew he must have really loved this person. "Do you want to tell me more about it?"

"Yes, because I want you to know I have been hurt before and because of that pain I almost thought I would never find someone else who I could truly love." Yuugi told him trying to keep back the tears that wanted to fall. Somewhere deep in his heart Yuugi still held a spot for that boy who really loved him, but there was nothing wrong with moving on so that he could be happy. "His name was Jack and I told Taylor and Ethan about him, but I feel you need to know about him. Jack died in a car crash with his parents right after Christmas and our anniversary of being together for a year. When he died I felt lost and depressed. I thought he would be the only one for me and no one else would be good enough. But I did have people around me who helped me understand it would be okay to move on and find someone else. This led me to dating again until I got to college and decided to focus on my studies."

Yami wiped away some of the tears that did escape Yuugi's eyes. "I do know what it is like to lose a loved one, but I hope I never have to feel the pain like you have of losing a lover."

Yuugi smiled up at Yami. "You are the first person I have let my heart open to in a long time and I'm so happy you are in my life." He confessed. "I wanted you to know about my past lover since you were so open with me about your past."

Yami gave Yuugi a good long kiss, before pulling back and kissing his forehead. "It's getting late and I should be getting you home." He announced as he sat up.

A playful pout made its way onto Yuugi's lips as he snuggled down into Yami's soft silky red sheets. "Do I have to?" he whined a little. "Your bed is so soft. You spent the night at my house can't I stay here for the night."

Yami picked his mask up off the floor where he left it and placed it on his night stand. "I suppose you can stay the night, but what about my children and what they might think?" He teased.

Yuugi sat up in the bed with a playful smirk on his face. "We could always tell them I stayed in one of the guest rooms. We'll just have to make sure we wake up before them."

"I like that way you think." Yami said, while getting two t-shirts and sleep pants out of his dresser. He threw a gray t-shirt and black pants to Yuugi. "The bathroom is over there so you can get changed."

Yuugi caught the clothes and hurried off to the bathroom while Yami changed in his room. After they were both dressed, Yuugi put his clothes in a nice pile on the chest at the end of the bed and crawled into the bed.

Yami locked the bedroom door and turned out all the lights before joining Yuugi. The only light in the room was the light from the moon coming into the windows.

"So why did you lock the door?" Yuugi asked when Yami joined him and pulled him close.

"I figured you would want me to not wear my mask or bandages tonight and I'm not ready for my children to see my face. Chan likes to run in here and wake me up for breakfast. That and if you want to hide you are spending the night in my room we need to keep them out so they don't see you in here." Yami explained with a grin on his face.

Yuugi grinned back at him before snuggling down into the covers. "Smart thinking and I'm sure one day you will be able to show them what you look like."

"I know I will if I have you to help me." Yami said before giving Yuugi a goodnight kiss.

After that the two closed their eyes to get some well-deserved sleep.

* * *

Sakura: We have learned more about Yami and Yuugi even told Yami something he did not already know. It seems their relationship is still off to a good start. Plus they finally shared 'I love you' to each other after so many months of dating. Next chapter I plan on having Yuugi meet some old friends of his and meet some more people that Yami is friends with. Also Jack is a random OC I threw in here because I could not think of any other names or another character from a show and I did not want any puzzleshipping fans to get mad at me for havnig Yuugi have a past relationship with some body else from Yu-Gi-Oh. So remember Jack is dead and he will not be coming back...

Yumi: Review!


	12. Chapter 12

**Small Note**

**Sakura:** Sadly I'm back in school and my professors have loaded me down with work. I may not be able to update every week, but I will try and get some chapters out. I will let everyone know if I will not be able to update via my profile or anyone can message me.

This chapter may not be as exciting as the rest of the story, but it's to get some more people into the story. Some people I feel are not happy I am adding in Twilight characters, but they will not be like the Twilight characters from Stephenie Meyer. There are some differences to them such as they don't sparkle, they do sleep, and the relationships are slightly different. Also if anyone read the first chapter in the info part at the top I mentioned I did not own Twilight that should of given some people a hint.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**New and Old friends**

One can never have too many friends

* * *

When the sun began to rise the next day Yami was already awake after used to getting up early. He had his morning shower and dressed in a pair of black leather pants and a white t-shirt with a crimson vest over it. By then the time was around eight so Yami decided to wake Yuugi up.

Yuugi groaned and carefully opened his eyes when he felt someone gently kiss his forehead and shake him awake. His vision was blurred for a minute, before he blinked away the sleep and saw Yami looking down at him with a smile. A yawn escaped Yuugi's mouth along with a small good morning.

Yami chuckled and ran his fingers through Yuugi's tangled mass of hair. "I hope you do not mind getting up early, but before long the children will be up and banging on my door wanting me to come to breakfast." He said as he helped Yuugi sit up so he could wake up.

Another yawn escaped Yuugi's mouth as he stretched. He looked around before looking up at Yami. "What am I going to do about clothes?"

"You could always borrow some of mine." Yami suggested as he headed over to his wardrobe. "They might be slightly big, but after breakfast I can take you home to get changed."

Yuugi turned and let his feet touch the ground before walking over to Yami. He looked through Yami clothes and saw mostly black. "What is with all the black?" He asked.

Yami rubbed the back of his head with a grin on his face. "I thought I looked good in it and it makes me feel mysterious and scarier with my mask."

There was no hiding the tiny chuckle that came from Yuugi's mouth as he wrapped his arms around Yami's waist. "There's no need to worry I think it black looks good on you." He said before releasing Yami and going through all Yami's clothes. "I'm just not sure how it will look on me."

"I think you will look sexy in it." Yami whispered into Yuugi's ear, causing a shiver to run down Yuugi's spine.

Yami pulled out a pair of black jeans and a striped red and white polo shirt. He handed them to Yuugi before showing him the bathroom to take his shower.

While Yuugi was in the shower, there was a knock on Yami's door. Yami put his mask over his face before going over to the door and unlocking it. Standing outside his door was Chan and Taylor. Chan hugged her father's legs and smiled up at him.

"Good morning daddy!" She exclaimed.

Yami patter her head. "Good morning sweetheart."

"Chan wanted me to come with her and get you for breakfast." Taylor explained. He looked like he had just woken up by the look on his face.

Yami put his hands on his hips. "Chan did you wake your brother up?"

Chan looked guilty and let go of her father. She put her hands behind her back and looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry daddy, but I tried to wake you up earlier, but the door was locked."

Yami thought back and realized that it must have been her knocking at the door when he was in the shower. "I'm sorry honey, I was in the shower."

Taylor ruffled Chan's hair. "She came to my room worried because you would not answer the door." He looked up at his father. "Why was the door locked? You never have it locked. "

"I do not think that is any of your business." Yami answered with his arms crossed.

Taylor grinned at him. "Well anyway I'll go get Chan started on her breakfast." He led her away and Yami closed the door back.

He closed it just in time too, because Yuugi had just walked out of the bathroom fully dressed. He was drying his hair with the towel. "Who was at the door?" He asked.

Yami took the towel from Yuugi and started to help him dry his hair. "It was Chan and Taylor coming to get me for breakfast. Chan came by knocking earlier but I was in the shower. She went and woke Taylor up so he could get me up."

Yuugi took the towel from Yami as he started to mess up his hair. "She must really enjoy having breakfast with you."

Yami shrugged. "We are both early birds, so we have a nice quiet breakfast together, before all my other children join me."

They both put their black boots on and Yami handed Yuugi his black belt so he could keep his pants up. Yuugi grabbed Yami's hand and led him out of the room. "Let's not keep her waiting on her daddy then."

* * *

Chan's face lit up when she saw not only her father, but Yuugi walk into the room as well. She left her seat and hurried over to them, jumping into Yuugi's arms. Yuugi had to stop to get his balance back to support his weight and hers in his arms.

"Yuugi!" She exclaimed with a wide smile. "I did not know you spent the night."

Yuugi smiled back at her. "It was a last minute thing."

The three walked back to the table and Yuugi sat Chan back down in her seat before taking his seat by Yami. It was a normal thing for Yuugi to sometimes eat there so the seat left of Yami was always left open for Yuugi no matter what.

The food was settled all along the table so Yuugi helped himself to the delicious breakfast food and kept up a small conversation until they were joined thirty minutes later by the rest of the children. Yami sat back and watched everyone eat choosing to just talk with Yuugi instead of having his normal cup of blood. He was not all that hungry that morning since he had his fill last night at the party.

Taylor and Ethan were chatting about going out to the local arcade. Jason and Jiro kept to themselves silently eating and they did not look all that awake that morning. Kotaro and Chan were discussing their own plans for that day.

Yami soon got everyone's attention to discuss something of importance. "I would like to remind my children that next weekend we will be having some guests staying at the palace."

Taylor rolled his eyes. "We know we know… You do this twice a year. Do not worry we know the drill to be on our best behavior and be good host."

Yuugi looked at everyone before looking at Yami confused. "What guests?"

"Twice a year a meeting is called with the portal protectors and my council. It is a routine thing to make sure peace is kept and that our city is not disobeying the rules put in place to protect the humans living here." Yami explained. "If you would like to join in on the meeting that would be fine. I'm sure the rest of my council would like to meet you."

Yuugi agreed. It would be nice to learn more about how the city was ran and to meet the rest of the people who saved Yami's life so long ago.

* * *

When the first of January came around the palace was getting ready for its visitors. Guest rooms were being made and the children were making plans to be out of the palace for as long as they could so they would not drive Yami crazy. The King already had a good amount on his mind for the upcoming meeting.

Yuugi was currently enjoying some lunch on a nice comfy couch in the children's lounge that Yami showed him to so he could relax. The room was filled with all kinds of couches and cushions to sit on, a table with chairs to play games or eat food on, and other things children loved to play with. For the older teens there were many TVs in the room with different gaming systems hooked up so each person could play what they wanted to play. There were even some old fashion arcade games in the back of the room.

The TV was playing one of Yuugi's favorite crime shows and it was a marathon so that made Yuugi excited to watch it because he could catch up with the episodes. As one ended and another came on, a servant walked into the room to check on Yuugi.

"Sir may I get you anything else?"

Yuugi shook his head and handed the young man his empty plate. "No thank you, the burger was excellent and filled me up."

The servant bowed. "I will be sure to give the chef your compliment." He said before leaving Yuugi to his show.

No more than two minutes later a well-dressed Yami walked into the room. He was dressed like a business man in his black business suit with a crimson shirt and black tie along with his mask in its place. Yuugi met him halfway and lifted his mask briefly to give him a kiss on the lips before putting the mask back down.

"You look mighty handsome for this meeting." Yuugi said while fixing Yami's tie so it was straight. "If I did not know any better I would think you were trying to catch someone's eye."

Yami chuckled. "I think I already caught the person." He wrapped his arms around Yuugi and lifted him off his feet.

Yuugi laughed as Yami held him up. "Yami!"

Someone cleared there throat and they both looked to see Jiro at the door. "Father, the others are ready for the meeting to start."

Yami settled Yuugi down and turned to face his son.

Yuugi hide slightly behind Yami as he looked at Jiro. Jiro did not talk with Yuugi like the other children and whenever Yuugi caught his eye he felt like Jiro would kill him if looks could kill. No matter what Yuugi would try to do Jiro did not want anything to do with his father's boyfriend.

"Are you and your siblings going out today?" Yami asked. He did not notice how uncomfortable Yuugi was around his son.

Jiro nodded and left the room without another word.

When Yami turned back to Yuugi, Yuugi went back to his normal cheerful self. "I guess we need to get going then." He said as he grabbed Yuugi's hand and intertwined their fingers.

Yuugi looked down at his clothes and hoped jeans and a nice dark purple polo shirt would be nice to wear to this meeting. He felt under-dressed next to Yami. "I'm dressed nice enough right?"

Yami nodded, not even looking down at Yuugi's clothes. "There is no dress code for this meeting, but being the King I need to look presentable."

Those words made Yuugi feel slightly better, but he hoped he wasn't the only one in casual clothes.

* * *

The throne room looked so much more different since the last time Yuugi walked into it. Instead of all the Christmas decorations, the room was lined with crimson drapes around the room. There was one long dark oak table leading up to the golden throne. The table was full of people, some Yuugi had met and some he hadn't, each took up a seat so there were no available seats at the table.

Yami lead Yuugi to his throne, but just before they could make it a certain dirty blond head caught Yuugi's attention. A huge smile lit up Yuugi's face as he shouted out for the person he had not seen in ages. "Joey!"

The blond named Joey turned his head and a small that could rival Yuugi's lit his face too. He stood up from his seat and embraced his smaller friend from high school. "Yug!" He exclaimed ruffling Yuugi's hair. "I had no idea you were here." He was a good head taller than Yuugi with shaggy dirty blond hair and honey brown eyes that were alight with happiness. He wore a pair of old denim jeans with a white shirt that had one green stripe on it across the chest.

Yuugi smiled up at his best friend. "I've been living here for almost half a year now. I'm sorry I did not get in touch with you or Seto. I have not talked to you since I went on that dig in Cairo and it never crossed my mind." He stepped back from Joey. "How have you and Seto been anyway?"

"We are both doing great…" Joey said before calling over his shoulder. "Come say hi to Yuugi, Seto."

A rather tall brunette who looked so much like Seth got up from his seat and shook hands with Yuugi. "It's good to see you again Yuugi." He had cream color skin with short brown hair and icy blue eyes. There was no surprise he was dressed in his normal white suit with blue shirt and blue tie.

"The same here Seto." Yuugi said back. "How have things been in Domino?"

"They are good." Seto replied. "If I could get a few minutes of your time after this meeting I can give you some updates about your grandfather's shop."

Yuugi agreed to that. "I would like that very much. So why are you two here anyway?"

Yami picked that moment to walk up to Yuugi and place his hands on his shoulders. "Seto Kaiba is a protector of the portal in Japan. I had no idea you were friends with him and his lover."

Yuugi looked up at him. "I've been friends with Joey since we were in high school. Seto and Joey did not start dating until our junior year of high school. Neither did mention to me about knowing about this city." He said the last part more toward his two friends.

Joey grinned with a nervous smile. "Sorry about that Yuugi, but Seto made me promise not to say anything. We cannot let people know about this city unless they learn about it themselves."

"That's alright Joey." Yuugi said making sure his friend understood that he forgave him. "It's Seto's job to protect the portal. Besides I kind of found my own way here while in Cairo."

Before Joey could ask Yuugi more about that, a small blond hair girl about a head shorter than Yuugi ran into the young man and hugged him. At first the air was knocked out of him and it took a minute for Yuugi to recover. Once he did he looked down and was easy to recognize a hyper Rebecca Hawkins smiling up at him.

Yuugi patted her ponytail hair head. "I did not even see you Rebecca."

Rebecca stepped back and Yuugi got a good look at her. She had changed over the years from the small little girl Yuugi remembered to a beautiful teenager. The height was the main change, but she still had the same shoulder length blond hair and beautiful ocean blues eyes that he remembered. The little children clothes were replaced with tan pants and a soft pink blouse.

"Let me guess…" Yuugi said tapping his chin. "You and your grandfather guard a portal in America?"

Small giggles escape from Rebecca. "I'm sure you could figure it out after you figured out why Joey was here. It was hard keeping it a secret from you and your grandfather." She said before realizing what she said. "Oh I'm sorry Yuugi!"

Yuugi shook his head. "It's alright Rebecca. I have healed from his death and its okay to speak about him now." He hugged her again. "It is good to see you again. I have not seen either of you since his funeral."

When they pulled away Rebecca got her grandfather to come over and greet Yuugi, before the meeting needed to get underway.

As Yuugi sat beside Yami on the arm of the throne, he was introduced to a good amount of people before the meeting could officially start. He already knew Ryou, Bakura, Marik, Malik, Seth, Kisara, Seto, Joey, Rebecca, Arthur Hawkins-Rebecca's grandfather-, Rishid, Shadi, Ishizu, Sakura, and Yumi.

The ones Yuugi was introduced to that he did not know were Isis, Mahado, and Carlisle the rest of the council Yuugi had heard about from Yami's past. He then met Mahado's younger sister Mana, Carlisle's wife Esme and one of Carlisle's daughters Bella along with Bella's husband Edward. After that he learned the names of the eleven portal holders that were still alive. He learned from Yami that over time some portal holders stopped guarding their portals and they had to be shut down, other than that some portal holders died and had no one to look after the portals so they too had to be shut down. Only eleven main portals remained open, which three were guarded by Ishizu, Arthur, and Seto.

The remaining eight portals were looked after by eight different people around the world. One was Dartz Yakama, portal holder of India and successful business man. He had long light green hair in a low ponytail and one eye was green while the other was gold.

Portal holder of one half of America was Maxmillion Pegasus, who was also a successful business man like Seto and Dartz. He was a surprise to Yuugi, because Pegasus made one of Yuugi's most favorite card games duel monsters. The man had long white hair that went to his shoulders and dark brown eyes.

Portal holder of England was Ryou's younger sister Amane who just turned twenty and gain the guardianship over the portal after her parents both died last year. She had beautiful long white hair like Ryou and they looked almost alike except Amane was more girlish and had hazel eyes.

Mr. Wong as he liked to be called and nothing else was an ex-military man with a daughter who happened to live in Vampire city as a vampire because of some punk boy. He guarded a portal in China in a small town. He had shaggy black hair that was graying a little and dark green eyes.

Noah Hokkaido was a portal holder in Australia and the son of a wealthy family of scientist. He had short blue green hair and light brown eyes. Just like his parents he was considered a genius for his age, so it was no problem for him to come in his parents place to any meetings.

Rafael comes from a high class rich family and currently takes care of his younger siblings since both his parents died five years ago. He has spiky blond hair and dark violet eyes. His portal is in Canada.

Portal holder of Brazil is a laid back adult without a care in the world and goes by the name Alister. He has short dark red hair and gray eyes.

The last portal holder located in Russia is the Schroeder brothers. Zigfried the older brother owns a company which is rivals to Seto and Pegasus in the gaming industries. Leon is the baby brother who is more open than his brother. Zigfried has long light pink hair and hazel eyes, while his brother has short pink hair and hazel eyes.

After everyone knew everyone and all the portal holders met Yuugi the meeting was finally able to start. It took a couple two hours to get through and in all honest for Yuugi, he would have preferred to have stayed in the lounge watching his show.

When the meeting was bought to a close Yuugi excused himself from Yami's side and went to hang out with Joey. He had so much to catch up on with his best friend. The rest of the day was going to be spent on Joey telling Yuugi everything that had happened in Domino and for Yuugi it was going to be him telling Joey his long tale of college, coming to the vampire city, and falling in love with the king.

* * *

Sakura: I think this was the most boring chapter of this story, but I'm happy it is out of the way. I will try and put more action in this story from now on. It should pick up from here with some surprises that no one will see coming or at least I hope they don't. I like to surprise people and read their reviews afterwards.

Yumi: Review!


	13. Chapter 13

**Small Note**

**Sakura:** I took notice some people are not happy I added in Twilight character, well this is my story and I will put in who I want. I'm not a huge fan of the movies, but I thought the books were a good read. I'm not trying to be mean to everyone, but don't be getting mad at me for putting in people I want to put into the story. There are two different types of vampires in this story, ones who change with bite and ones that don't. The Twilight characters fit end of story.

Yumi: She had to vent for a minute about that, but now she is fine. We understand some people do not like Twilight, but the Twilight characters will not be a big thing in this story, Sakura has not decided if they will make another appear or not.

Sakura: Please look past the things you do not like about the story and enjoy the rest of the story because it is interesting to read or so people have told me.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Zoo Trip**

A romantic day to ourselves

* * *

In the early month of March Yuugi was outside in the King's garden with some of the other servants of the palace trying to plant some new flowers for the upcoming spring weather. He was looking at a layout he drew of the garden giving certain jobs to certain people.

Chan came up to him dragging a black trash bag full of leaves. "Yuugi we are almost finished with the fountain. Are we going to get it running today?"

Yuugi kneeled down and patted Chan's head. "We will see what happens. I would like to get it running today."

A few other people came Yuugi's way asking him questions about where certain things were supposed to go and Yuugi gave them direction until everyone moved away from Yuugi when the King appeared behind Yuugi.

At first Yuugi had no idea someone was behind him until he felt some kiss his neck. He jumped and turned to see his boyfriend smiling at him with the bandages around his face.

A scowl made its way onto Yuugi's face as he glared at his lover. "Yami do not sneak up on me like that."

Yami grinned and wrapped his arms around Yuugi pulling him close. "But it's so easy to scare you…" He said with a chuckle.

"Sometimes I wonder what I saw in you…" Yuugi joked as he lean against Yami.

Yami kissed him. "I was hot and sexy…"

Yuugi playfully hit Yami and got out of his arms. "Whatever makes you happy Yami..." He said with a smile and went back to what he was doing. He liked this new side of Yami ever since they started dating Yami would show his more playful side.

The King popped his head over Yuugi's shoulder and looked at what he was doing. "So how is everything coming along?" He asked.

"The fountain is almost done, but we are waiting on some shipments of flowers and baby trees that will be coming tomorrow. Today we are just cleaning the garden up so we can plant new things and make it come back to life." Yuugi explained.

Yami took a look around the garden and liked what he saw. It definitely looked better than when he was taking care of it. "Well I was going to come out here and ask if you wanted to go to the zoo tomorrow."

"Zoo...?" Yuugi asked unsure if he heard Yami right. "I didn't know there was a zoo here."

"It's been closed for the winter weather because some of the animals disliked the cold, but it reopened last week and I thought it would be nice to go." Yami said. "I thought maybe we were due for a date."

Yuugi looked over his list of things to do. "Well I could wait for the delivery since it will be here around eleven and then we can go."

Yami agreed. "That works for me. The children might want to go with us, but they will do their own thing and we can enjoy a nice date together."

Yuugi turned around and wrapped his arms around Yami's neck. "What would you say to coming to my house tonight for dinner?" He asked.

"Do you have something special in mind?"

"I'm having Seto and Joey over tonight. Joey wanted to come see me and I think it would be nice with it just being the four of us. When Seto and Joey were here last time there were also a lot of other people here. Since Joey found out we were dating I think he wants a chance to make sure you aren't going to hurt me…" Yuugi explained. "After my grandfather passed Joey has taken on the role of a big brother."

"It's been two months since we last saw them. We could have gotten together sooner than this and had dinner…"

Yuugi ran his fingers through Yami's hair. "Joey explained to me after that meeting Seto had to be in America for something important and then after that they were going to go on vacation. We just haven't found a good time to plan a get together and it wasn't like you could leave the city."

Yami could see the reasoning behind it. "I don't see anything wrong with going to your place tonight." A grin then appeared on his face. "Does that include spending the night?"

Yuugi rolled his eyes. "What do you think?" He teased.

"I think that is a yes." Yami kissed him on the cheek then the lips. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Chan ran up.

"Yuugi! The fountain is cleaned out!" She yelled excitedly.

The two lovers broke and Yuugi followed the young girl as she dragged Yuugi over to the fountain. Yami chuckled at the girl's excited nature and followed behind them.

* * *

Joey happily pulled Yuugi into a hug after he opened the door to let the two come in. Seto rolled his eyes at his lover.

"Puppy you need to let him breathe…" Seto said.

Joey let Yuugi go and turned to glare at Seto. "You try being away from your best friend for a long period of time."

Yuugi smiled and patted Joey's shoulder. "It's nice to see you too Joey. Yami's already here and dinner is ready if you two would like to come in and eat."

The mention of food completely turned Joey away from Yuugi and caused him to hurry into the house where the smell of food was coming from.

"High food bill..?" Yuugi asked Seto as the CEO calmly walked into the house and shut the door.

Seto nodded his head. "It's a good thing I'm rich."

The two headed into the dining room, where Joey had already taken a seat and was filling his plate. Yami sat on the other side of the table watching him with his mask in place so no one could see the look on his face. Yuugi had tried to talk Yami out of wearing the mask, but Yami thought it would make Joey and Seto less uncomfortable than the bandages. The two had seen Yami with the mask on, but never the bandages.

Seto took a place next to Joey, while Yuugi sat down next to Yami. Seto and Yuugi got what they wanted on their plates before everyone, except Yami started to eat.

As they ate they made small conversation. Most of the conversation was Joey trying to grill Yami and make sure he was good for Yuugi. The embarrassing question was if they were being inmate.

"Joey!" Yuugi yelled at him when he asked the question. "That is a personal question that you do not need to know the answer to."

Joey shrugged. "I'm just wondering if you're still a virgin or not… I don't want Yami to just be using you for sex."

Yami turned to Yuugi. "You're still a virgin?"

Yuugi blushed to a bright red and bowed his head. "I promised my grandfather I would stay pure until after marriage so my wedding night would be special. My family is very traditional in that area and he was worried I might become a young parent without being able to get a college education."

Yami wrapped an arm around Yuugi's shoulders. "There is nothing wrong with that Yuugi." He looked toward Joey. "No we have not had sex yet."

"That is all I wanted to know." Joey said as he started to eat again.

"So are the embarrassing questions over with?" Yuugi wondered out loud scared to see what else Joey would ask.

Joey nodded. "It really doesn't matter what I think as long as you love Yami and I have a feeling he would never hurt you."

Yami agreed. "I would never want to push Yuugi away. He is the best thing to happen to me."

Another blush filled up Yuugi's face, but this one wasn't out of embarrassment. He was touched by Yami's words and snuggled up next to him. "I love you too Yami."

A smile lit up Joey's face at the cute moment. He had a feeling that the love Yuugi and Yami had for each other was a true love, like the love he had for Seto.

The rest of the night was spent having a good time and giving Yami a chance to really get to know Seto and Joey since they were pretty much the only family Yuugi had left.

* * *

The next day around twelve after Yuugi saw the delivery of the flowers and other items needed to bring the garden back to life, he along with Yami and his children were in a limo headed to the zoo. Chan and Kotaro were the most excited out of the children to be going to the zoo. The older children were uneasy about going to the zoo, but it was a nice sunny day so they figured it would be worth the trip.

Yami sat in the back of the limo with Yuugi and his head resting on Yuugi's lap. He hated the limo ride, but it was the quicker way to get to the zoo, since it was a few miles away from the downtown area. The wardrobe Yami picked for himself was his mask, black combat boots, a pair of blue jean pants and a black tank top along with his black leather jacket. The day was sunny and a jacket wasn't really needed, but Yami wanted to wear it anyway.

Yuugi was relaxed in his seat running his fingers through Yami's hair trying to keep him calm. He was wearing black tennis shoes, blue jean shorts that went to his knees, a baby blue t-shirt and his necklace that he never took off.

Chan was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a pink t-shirt. Kotaro was wearing a pair of blue jean overalls with a white shirt. Jiro was wearing his normal black pants and love sleeve black turtle neck shirt. Jason was dressed in his tan shorts and a white tank top. Lastly Ethan and Taylor were dressed the same in blue jeans and both wearing navy blue shirts.

Each individual had a plan for the day and Yami had already informed the children that he and Yuugi would like some alone time, so the children made a promise not to disturbed them unless it was important. Ethan and Taylor would be in charge of Chan while Jason and Jiro would be in charge of Kotaro. It would keep the little ones out of trouble.

When they arrived at the zoo, much to Yami's happiness, Yuugi was surprised by the size of the place. He thought it would be a small community zoo, but the zoo was huge as far as he could tell. The front was done in an Egyptian palace theme with huge animal statues leading to the front. The walls had hieroglyphs all over them not saying anything, but having pictures of different animals.

Yami lead them to the line that was for members only, which was not long at all. The other lines were long twice as long because of the nice day and it seemed everyone had the same idea.

Yuugi kept his hand in Yami's making sure he didn't lose him. He could already feel the eyes on him, because of the fact the people were probably surprised their King was at the zoo that day. The adults seem to stare while the children would wave at Yami, who would wave back. If Yuugi knew Yami well enough he was probably smiling at the children behind his mask, which put a smile on Yuugi face.

It took only but a minute for them to get into the zoo, mostly because of who Yami was and that they didn't need to have a membership or to pay. Yami had told Yuugi early that he donated to the zoo often so that was considered his payment every time he would come with the children.

The first part of the zoo pass the lines to get in was a small open courtyard with a long swallow up ground pool for fish to swim in and people could sit on the edges to watch them. To his right were the gift shop and wheelchair rentals and to his left was the information booth. Passed the pool was a giant obelisk with more animal hieroglyphs on it. As they walked pass the obelisk Yuugi found a small river leading to a huge swallow underground pool with a fountain. They walked to the left of the river and the first exhibit happened to be the Cat Country as it was called based on the sign.

This is where everyone split up. Yami wanted to take Yuugi through Cat Country first while the others went where they wanted to first. Yami wrapped an arm around Yuugi's waist and lead him into the exhibit. There was bamboo everywhere giving a nice shady jungle like feel to it. The first cat they came upon was two African lions, one was a male and the other was its female mate.

Yuugi lean against the wooden rail and saw the two lions walking behind their steel cage. The male lion would walk pass Yuugi a few times before it stopped and looked up at him. He smiled and waved at the lion, but what surprised Yuugi was it sat down and lifted a paw up as if to wave back.

"His name is Fred and his mate is Savannah…" Yami explained as he lean on the railing and ran his fingers over the steel bars.

Yuugi tilted his head to look at Yami, "The lion is named Fred?" he asked.

Yami nodded. "Fred arrived at this zoo fifteen years ago as a cub. His mate came two years after that she is currently thirteen. This zoo had just lost its last lion to old age and a new one was needed for the exhibit." He explained. "Fred came from Africa where he was rescued after his mother abandoned him. I heard about him and decided to add him to our zoo and raise him myself. Chan got his crazy idea that he looked like a Fred so I let her name him."

The lion moved closer to the steel bars and moved up against them. Yami ran his fingers over the soft fur without any fear of being attacked. "I would come here sometimes with the children and spend all my time hanging around Fred." He chuckled. "I would have kept him as a pet, but I fear what people at the palace would think and I figured he would have a better home here where he could run around in his own habitat."

"That makes sense…" Yuugi said as he reached out too and was happy to see Fred let him pet him.

They spent a few minutes there before moving along when it seemed like more people were coming their way. The lion let out a powerful roar before running back over to his mate.

* * *

Before long they were coming out of Cat Country and Yuugi was able to meet more cats that Yami knew and seemed to have raised. He turned and walked backwards facing Yami as they strolled to the next exhibit.

"So what to next?" Yuugi asked.

Yami thought over the different exhibits that were close by. "There is the bird exhibit right around the corner with the penguin rock close by. Then there is the nursery and hatchery with the baby penguins in the zoo garden. It's either those or we can go the other way and see the animals of the night and beside them is the monkeys."

Yuugi looked around and spotted the animals of the night. He took Yami's hand and started to lead him that way. "I want to see the animals of the night first. We can always back track and go back to the birds later."

The animal of the night exhibit was made to look like a creepy cave. Yami opened the door for Yuugi and let him enter first. At first they entered a room with bright forest walls and then entered another room where it was pitch black with cave like walls. Each animal was kept behind floor to ceiling glass and it took a minute for Yuugi's eyes to adjust so he could see the animals.

Yami put his arms around Yuugi to keep him from hurting himself. The dark did not affect his eyes so much since he was a vampire, plus he would be able to steer Yuugi and have an excuse to hold him. It wasn't like he needed an excuse.

Yuugi was in awe at the beautiful animals behind the glass and his favorite had to be the cute little sugar glider. His second favorite had to be the different bats they had and he had to laugh when Yami made a comment about the guy feeding them.

"That has to be the world's biggest bat…" Yami said with a small laugh.

Yuugi slapped his arm and gave a cute giggle. "You would make a stupid comment like that…"He joked, before moving Yami along.

When they reached the end of the exhibit they entered a different room with forest wallpaper before leaving the exit door that was beside the enter door. It took a minute for Yuugi's eyes to get used to the sun again, before they moved along to the monkeys.

* * *

It took a full two hours to get through most of the zoo. Yuugi was able to see the cats, animals of the night, monkeys, penguins, aquarium, reptiles, Komodo dragon, hippos, pandas, otters, and African animals, such as, elephants, zebras, and giraffes. They also visited the Once upon a Farm, which was a petting zoo with donkeys, sheep, goats, chickens, roasters, horses, and cows. By the time they reached the polar bears Yuugi was almost worn out from all the walking.

Yami bought Yuugi a quick snack and something to drink before they entered the Northwest Passage in the back of the zoo. It was home to the sea lions, polar bears, eagles, crows, and black bears. The first they stopped off to see was the sea lions. A crew member was sitting on a rock feeding the sea lions their lunch. When he noticed the King coming in he quickly stood up and bowed.

"My King…" He exclaimed.

Yami waved his hand letting him know he could stand again. "No need to bow."

Yuugi walked over to the glass which was waist high so people could see over into the water and place his hands on the steel wires. The wires were about eight feet high so people couldn't reach into the water or climb into the water with the animals.

The guy working whistled at one of the sea lions and got her to do a little trick for Yuugi.

Yuugi clapped for the sea lion and turned to Yami. "That was some trick!" He exclaimed.

Yami agreed. "How about we watch them for a few minutes."

They walked over to a nice wooden bench to watch a small show, until the guy ran out of fish to feed the animals.

Once that was over they made their way through the rest of the Northwest Passage and then moved along to the Teton Trek which was the home of the brown bears, elks, and wolves. It was a small part of the zoo having just been opened for a few years. It had a beautiful wooden lodge built in front of it and people could walk inside it to have lunch.

The two first visited the brown bears and watch them play in the water, before Yami came up with something Yuugi might like to do. He took him into an area for employees only and before long they came upon a caged door for the wolves.

Yuugi looked up nervously at Yami. "Are you sure about this?"

Yami nodded his head. "I promise you won't get hurt. These wolves are babies only two years old. There are four two males and two females. The males might not want to go close to you, but Chan and Kotaro have played with the female ones before."

"Yeah, but they are vampires. I'm human and probably a very nice snack for them." Yuugi stated as Yami opened the door and pulled Yuugi into the exhibit.

The wolves' home was a huge open area with one tree and many branches scattered around. They had a manmade wooden den made for them and a rock waterfall to drink from. Yami walked into the open area more and looked up at the people looking down at the exhibit. He waved at the people, who he was sure some thought he was crazy and then looked around for the wolves. The males were currently sun bathing, but the females were nowhere to be found.

He was not able to find them until he heard Yuugi call out for him. Turning around he found the females circling Yuugi and smelling him. Yuugi was tense and had his arms wrapped around himself.

Yami smiled at him and walked over. He kneeled down and the females walked over to him.

Yuugi relaxed when they walked away and watched as Yami petted the white/grey wolves as if they were cute puppies. "How can you be around them so easily?"

Yami shrugged his shoulders and patted the seat next to him. "They belong to me. Just like the lions I raised them since birth. These four happened to live at the palace with me for a while, before I decided to give them their own exhibit so they could roam free and not stay trapped in my room."

Unsure at first Yuugi took baby steps over to Yami, before he sat down next to the King. One of the females lied down and put her head on Yuugi's lap. It took a minute for Yuugi to realize she wanted him to pet her. He carefully moved his hand over her soft fur and felt her relax under his hand. With a smile Yuugi got bolder and started to pet her back as well as scratch her behind the ears.

This of course made Yami happy that Yuugi was having fun hanging around the animals.

* * *

The family decided to leave the zoo around five close to when the zoo had to close before heading into town for an early dinner. They ate at a nice restaurant before Yami got the limo driver to take Yuugi home after the long day.

By time Yuugi got into his house after a good night kiss from Yami he was pretty much dead on his feet. He took a quick shower and then curled up on the sofa to watch some movies before going to bed. As he relaxed on the sofa he thought over his day with Yami and another smile lit his face. He had to admit that going to the zoo had been a good idea and he would be looking forward to going again sometime.

* * *

Sakura: I do not own the Memphis Zoo in Memphis, TN. I have no idea how many people have been there, but I have a few times and that is what the zoo in this story was based off of. Also I do not own Fred and Savannah the lions. They are two very real lions at the Memphis Zoo, well Fred just passed away this year and this was kind of in memory of him. He was such a cute lion who everyone loved.

Yumi: Review!


	14. Chapter 14

**Small Note**

**Sakura**: As my profile says I am extremely sorry for the two month wait. I should have had this chapter out long ago, but sadly college got in the way and I want to make this chapter a good one. On a good note I am happy to say this story will no longer be delayed anymore and I should have weekly updates starting up again for all my stories.

Sorry if this chapter seems a little short, because it's not a major chapter for the story, just to let Yugi bond with the children some more. Oh and I would like to send a thanks to **s2teennovelist **for helping me with ideas for this chapter.

Last thing I'm please to say this story has been alive for a year! I missed the anniversary but hopefully I will get this story done with before the two year mark.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**Children**

I'll love them as if they were my own

* * *

By May a whole two months later the garden was complete. The flowers and trees were in full bloom and the fountain was up and running. The water was a crystal clear and sparkled in the sun light. The children added stone benches around the garden in random shady areas for people to sit on. They even added swings tied to a couple of trees. The only time the swings were really used was from Kotaro and Chan, plus sometimes Taylor when he wanted to act like a kid.

Yuugi was currently in the garden on a Saturday sitting beside the fountain. Kotaro and Chan were running around the garden playing tag. It was a bright sunny day, so Yuugi had decided to leave the shop closed for the day and visit his new family. Even though Yuugi and Yami weren't married or engaged yet, Yuugi still considered them his family. Yami would tell him all the time how much Yuugi was to them and no matter what he would be a part of the family as long as he wanted to be.

The wind blew by at that moment causing Yuugi to shiver a little. He was in a simple pair of jean shorts and a black t-shirt with a skull on the front. His bare feet were in the fountain enjoying the cool water. It was quiet for the most part with only the sound of running feet and laughter.

The silence however was broken by a shout of victory from Chan who had just touched Kotaro, "Haha you're it!" This made Kotaro stop and turned around to run after Chan, who had taken off.

A smile lit up Yuugi's face at how child like the two could be even when they were over a hundred years old. "I wish I was that young again…" He muttered to himself.

"Who said you were old?"

Yuugi turned around to see his handsome boyfriend behind him wearing tight black leather pants, leather black tank top and his mask. He took a seat beside Yuugi and brushed his hand over Yuugi's cheek. This made Yuugi lean into the touch and let out a sigh.

"I'm not as old as you are, but just watching the children play makes me feel old," Yuugi explained.

Yami chuckled, before looking around. He took notice his children were not around so decided to take a chance. With a quick hand, Yami took off his mask and kissed Yuugi right on the lips.

This completely caught Yuugi by surprise, before he closed his eyes and enjoyed the kiss as Yami deepened it.

When Yami's ears picked up the sound of feet running their way, he broke the kiss and put his mask back on. Yuugi remained where he was in a small daze as a blush worked its way onto his face, as Yami stood up. The King stroke Yuugi's cheek one more time.

"I have two more meetings in a few minutes, so I'll see you after for our date," He said to Yuugi, who only nodded.

Chan hurried over to Yuugi, but pouted when her father had already walked away. "Damn! I thought he was done with work."

Yuugi's eyes widened at her language and looked to her. "Chan! Where did you learn such language?"

Chan blushed and looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry Yuugi. I just hear my brothers say it all the time."

"It doesn't mean you need to repeat it. You are too young to be talking like that."

Chan for once glared at Yuugi. "I'm a hundred years older than you!" But once she realized she yelled at Yuugi she covered her mouth and started crying. "I'm so sorry!"

Yuugi carefully took the crying girl into his arms and sat her beside him. "Chan, is there something you want to talk about?" He asked her gently.

Chan rubbed at her eyes as she tried to stop the tears. "I'm just sick of people treating me like a little girl. I'm older than most six year olds and it isn't fair."

"I'm sorry, but it's hard to know that when you do look six." Yuugi explained hoping to not upset her more.

"I know that…" Chan exclaimed. "I just wish I didn't. I wish I had grown up more before becoming a vampire. I'll never know what it's like to have a lover or to have children."

Yuugi was surprised by all this. He had no idea Chan had been thinking about this all. She seemed to have really been keeping it bottled up. Hearing her talk, it was like talking to an older person than a little six year old. He let out a sigh and started to rub her back. "I have no idea what it has been like for you growing up like this, but promise me you will talk to me if you feel I have been treating you too much like a child."

Chan nodded her head and lean on Yuugi. "I'm sorry I got mad at you. I sometimes forget that to others I look like a little girl and they have no idea my true age." She closed her eyes and smiled. "I like having you around Yuugi. It seems like the only person I could talk to was daddy, but with you around I can open up more."

"You could have always talked to your brothers?"

Chan shook her head. "In a way their still children too, so I never felt right talking to them about this."

Yuugi hugged the little girl to him. "Well if you have anything you want to talk about, you know where to find me."

They silently stayed close to each other enjoying the closeness, because to Chan she felt like she had a mother figure back in her life that she never truly had. Even if Yuugi was a boy, he would talk to her and comfort her like a mother would. She loved her daddy too, but sometimes he had work and didn't have time for his children. It was nice having Yuugi around and she hoped he wouldn't go away for a very long time.

"Yuugi…?"

Yuugi looked down at Chan. "Yes?"

"Promise to stay with us for a very long time."

A smile came to Yuugi's face again. "I promise to stay as long as you want me around."

* * *

The next day Yuugi found himself at the shop working for a few hours. Since he kept it closed on Saturday he figured it wouldn't hurt to open the shop up for a few hours on Sunday. The day was cloudy and it looked like rain was coming. It was a great day to stay inside and curl up on the couch. That is where Yugi hope to be some time after lunch.

When the bell on the door ran, Yuugi looked up from his book to see Jason walk into the store.

He looked like he was dressed to go swimming with blue swim trunks on. He had a duffle bag over his shoulder and he had this nervous look about him.

"Hey Jason, what's up?"

Jason made his way over to the counter. "I uh…" He tried to say what he wanted to say but found it hard.

Yuugi closed his book and gave Jason his full attention. "There is something you wish to talk to me about?" He guessed since it seemed that way.

Jason nodded.

Yuugi smiled and started to get the shop ready to close up. "Help me close up and we'll go somewhere to eat. You're not planning on going anywhere soon are you?"

Jason shook his head. "I planned on going out with some friends to swim after lunch. That is why I wanted to talk to you before. Chan said you were a good listener."

"Let's close up and we'll go get some burgers, because I'm starving." Yuugi said as he started to close up and count the small amount of money he made. Jason cleaned up and put away items that Yuugi still had to price. Once both things were done with, the two made their way out of the shop and Yuugi locked the door.

After that they made their way down to the local dinner to grab some food.

* * *

"You want advice on asking someone out?"

Jason was sitting in his seat with his head on the table and huge blush was on his face. "Yes…" was the small reply from the shy boy.

Yuugi smiled at him. He thought it was cute that Jason was in love. "Do I or your family know this person?"

Jason sat up but kept his eyes looking down at his hands in his lap. "My brothers know of her because she hangs out with her brother who is Taylor's best friend. I have been around her so much and it was just recently that I think I started to fall for her."

"Oh…" Yuugi crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure how much help I will be. I've never asked someone out before. I've always been the one asked."

Jason sighed. "It's just so hard to find the right words. I don't want to sound mean by being blunt about it. Plus she is so hard to read sometimes and I can tell she is iffy about vampires."

"So she is human?"

"Yes, but her brother turned into a vampire by his wife. She loves him so much so she isn't scared of him or Taylor, but if I or Ethan came around I can tell she gets scared." Jason let out another sigh. "I figured if I asked her out and we went on a few dates she would open up to me."

Yuugi agreed. "However you fear rejection from her after asking her out." He closed his eyes as he started to think. "Maybe you should take the chance and just try and ask her out. If she is uncomfortable about being around you, I suggest a double date. You could invite her brother and his wife."

Jason looked up at Yuugi. "You really think it will work?"

Yuugi shrugged his shoulders. "You will never know until you try. The only thing I do not think you should do is give up so easily if you really like her. I just suggest you don't push it too much to where you get her brother coming after you for hurting his sister."

Jason nodded. "This has been a big help Yugi. I got so nervous when trying to talk to dad about this and my brothers would just laugh."

Yuugi flashed him a smile. "No need to worry. If you need me I will always try and help as best I can."

* * *

It was two weeks later and Yuugi found himself waking up to an empty bed with no Yami around. The children had this crazy idea for Yuugi to stay over at the palace for a sleep over for the weekend. So after much asking Yuugi agreed and closed the shop for a weekend to stay at the palace. It was a beautiful Saturday morning with the sun shining brightly, but the bed felt cold.

Yuugi had been sleeping in the room across the hall, but left in the middle of the night to come to Yami's room. He had no idea what the children would start thinking if they saw him and Yami sharing a bed, even if nothing was happening but sleeping.

With a yawn Yuugi set up in bed and rubbed his eyes. It was quiet in the palace for the time being, until it was broken by a scream from down the hall. His eyes snapped open wide and he hurried out of bed and to the door.

Once out of the room, Yuugi looked down each way trying to figure out which end it came from. It was then he saw Taylor walking his way from the left end. He was still dressed for bed and rubbing his eyes.

Yuugi looked up at him with worry when Taylor stood in front of him. "Did you hear that?"

Taylor nodded. "It happens once in a while."

Yuugi looked confused then. "Once in a while," He wondered with disbelief. "Who was it?"

"Kotaro…" Taylor said with a yawn. "He and Chan have rooms down the hall because they don't like to be away from father. They also have rooms in the other wing of the palace which is dedicated to just us children. Kotaro and Chan don't like to stay over there though so father had them rooms made down the hall from him."

Yuugi looked down the hall to the right. "Why would he be screaming like that?"

Taylor started to walk down the hall and Yuugi quickly followed. "Nightmares again… He has them every so often that people around here start to ignore it. Kotaro also doesn't like to talk about them, so we don't worry about it."

A shocked look made its way onto Yuugi's face. "But that's horrible! I don't care how old Kotaro is, if he is having nightmares all the time then someone should be there for him."

Taylor looked down and Yuugi could tell he looked upset. "I've tried helping him out along with everyone else, but Kotaro pushes us away. One time father even wanted to help him, but Kotaro threw a fit and threaten to run away." He stopped in front of a door that had Kotaro's name on it. "Father told us to leave it alone after that because he didn't want Kotaro running off and getting hurt."

"So why did you come this time?"

"Honestly I was coming to get him and Chan for breakfast when I heard the scream." He looked toward Yuugi. "I don't know how he will react to me going in there after that, so why don't I get Chan and you check on Kotaro."

Yuugi nodded and watched as Taylor went into the room across from Kotaro's. After he disappeared inside, Yuugi gently knocked on Kotaro's door and then opened it. He peeked inside to see Kotaro curled up on his bed with the covers pulled over him. The light from the open window showed a messy room with toys all over the place.

Being very careful not to hurt himself, Yuugi stepped over the toys and made his way to Kotaro's bed. "Hey Kotaro… Are you awake?"

Kotaro shook his head and then laid still.

Yuugi sat down on the bed and placed his hand on Kotaro's covered head. "I'm here if you want to talk and I was also told to come get you for breakfast."

It was quiet for the moment until a gentle voice said, "You hear me didn't you?"

Yuugi looked to see Kotaro's head pop out and look at him with red rimmed tear filled eyes. When Yuugi nodded his head Kotaro started to cry more.

A pain filled Yuugi's heart at seeing the little boy like that. He couldn't help but reach out and pull Kotaro into his arms. "I'm sorry for the pain these nightmares cause you and I know I won't understand, but I wish you would talk to someone and not keep it bottled up." Tears started to build in Yuugi's eyes.

Kotaro snuggled into Yuugi's night shirt and continue to cry. "It's just so hard to forget everything even when I want to forget!" He screamed into Yuugi's shirt, so it was kind of muffled.

Yuugi nodded his head. "I used to have nightmares too after my grandfather died, but I found talking to my friends helped because even if they didn't understand they were there to listen. I was able to get my feelings off my chest and have better nights."

Kotaro looked up at Yuugi as if he didn't believe him. "Really..?"

"I would never lie to you."

Kotaro wrapped his arms around Yuugi in a hug. "I dream of all the pain my parents caused me as a child." He said finally opening up. "It used to happen every night, but after a while they stopped. However just when I thought they were out of my life they started back and I keep thinking about it."

Yuugi hugged the small boy tighter. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that growing up. I wish you could have had a better life, but at least you have your new family to help you out." He said trying to cheer Kotaro up.

"I wish he would talk to me like that." A new voice spoke up.

The two looked up to see Yami standing at the door with his mask on.

Kotaro's eyes started to tear up again. "Daddy…"

Yami stepped into the room. "I'm so sorry I haven't been there like I should be Kotaro, but when you didn't want to open up to me I feared pushing you away by making you tell me."

Kotaro jumped from Yuugi's arms and hurried to Yami. Yami lean down and wrapped his arms around his son. "Please promise me you will come to talk to me when you want to talk?" Yami asked.

Kotaro agreed. "I promise daddy and I'm sorry for worrying you."

Yuugi smiled at the sweet moment. He stood up and walked over to them. Kotaro looked up to Yuugi and smiled.

"Thank you Yuugi for helping me. I'm glad you are a part of this family."

Yuugi blushed a little. "It was nothing Kotaro I'm glad I could help."

Yami stood up with Kotaro holding him with one arm and wrapping the other around Yuugi. "Let's go get some breakfast and then we'll go outside to enjoy the day."

Kotaro and Yuugi agreed with smiles on their faces.

* * *

The night fell upon the city before long and everyone was headed off to bed. Yuugi and Yami were walking toward Yami's bedroom after a nice midnight scroll in the garden. Yuugi was lean up against Yami while also holding one of his hands.

"That was nice…" Yuugi commented.

Yami agreed. "The palace does get very quiet after everyone goes to bed. I'm glad you enjoyed the day."

"It was even better since we included the children." The two then stopped in front of Yami's room.

Yami turned to Yuugi. "I'm guessing you will be staying the night with me again?" He asked playfully.

Yuugi chuckled. "I wouldn't want to be all alone in my room now would I?"

Yami opened the door for Yuugi, but a thought came to Yuugi. "Wait, how about I check on Kotaro and Chan first?"

"Do you think something is wrong?" Yami questioned.

Yuugi shook his head. "I would just feel better if I looked in on them after what happened this morning. It would put my mind at ease."

Yami nodded and stroked Yuugi's cheek. "Alright I might be in the shower when you return." He entered the room, while Yuugi headed down the hall.

It took all of five minutes to look in on both children and Yuugi had a smile on his face glad they were both sleeping soundly.

As he headed back down the hall he stopped when he almost ran into Jiro. "Oh I'm sorry…I wasn't looking where I was going." Yuugi said, before looking up at Jiro's blank face. "Is something wrong?"

Jiro's eyes then took on a glare. "You don't belong here."

Yuugi jumped a little surprised for the first time to hear anything come out of Jiro's mouth. They had not said one word to each other since Yuugi came to the city. "Excuse me?" Yuugi asked to make sure he had heard the teen right.

"You heard me…" Jiro hissed out. "I said you don't belong in this family."

It was Yuugi's turn to glare then. "Listen I have done nothing to you, so you have no right to speak to me like this."

Jiro pushed passed Yuugi. "You will regret coming here and interfering with our family." He said not once looking back at Yuugi.

Yuugi turned to say something else, but Jiro was nowhere to be found. He blinked a few times in confusion not sure what to make of that conversation.

The only thing that stayed glued in Yuugi's mind was the pure hate in Jiro's eyes when he looked at him. It scared Yuugi and he didn't like that. So without another thought he hurried back to Yami's room and locked the door after he was safely inside.

Yami came out of the bathroom about ten minutes later dressed in his night clothes. He was surprised to find Yuugi standing with his back to the bedroom door and looking at the floor. "Yuugi is something wrong?" He tried to question, but when Yuugi looked up at him, he saw the scared look in his eyes and that worried him. "Yuugi, what happened?" He hurried to Yuugi's side and wrapped his arms around him.

Yuugi kept quiet unsure if his voice would give away how shaken up he was now feeling. The only thing he did was lean into Yami and calmed his racing heart. He knew that as long as Yami was beside him he was safe.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just spook myself while walking down the hallway…" Yuugi lied. "It was dark and I thought I heard someone following me."

Yami kissed Yuugi's forehead and lead Yuugi toward the bed. "Well your safe in here so there is nothing to worry about."

The two prepared themselves for bed before curling up in Yami's bed together. It was a while before Yuugi fell asleep, but the last thought on his mind was why did Jiro hate him so much?

* * *

Sakura: So what did everyone think?

Yumi: What is the world crawled up Jiro's ass and died?

Sakura: Yumi don't be so mean! Everyone will need to give the story time and they will find out later why Jiro is like that. I am not giving anything away...

Yumi: Whatever… Anyway next time Yuugi will be hanging out with Ethan and Taylor since he didn't this chapter and Yuugi will get a first look into what being Yami's mate is all about and if he can handle it.

**Review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **I knew people would be confused about Jiro, but he will be explained later. However he will not be in this chapter at all. This chapter is filled with more Yugi with the children and Yugi gets a look at what it will be like to be Yami's mate.

There is also one thing I would like to point out so no one is confused in the beginning of this chapter. If you look back at chapter one Yugi was twenty and it was also before his birthday and the end of his junior year of college. When Yugi entered Vampire City he was about to turn twenty one. It has been a year since Yugi entered the city and he is now turning twenty two.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Yuugi's Second Job**

There is more to this than I thought

* * *

It was a bright beautiful day in Vampire City and most humans and vampires were out and about enjoying the day. The only ones left inside were the vampires who could not stand the sun. Yami was in the middle of getting the ball room ready for a very special birthday. It was June fourth and it happened to be Yuugi's twenty second birthday. The ruler of Vampire City was making sure everything would be perfect for his lover when he came later that night. Chan, Kotaro, Jason, Taylor, and Ethan were running distraction, so Yami was free to work on the party. Jiro had disappeared earlier that morning and Yami knew there was no point in trying to get him to help. Yami had no idea what was up with Jiro lately, but he was going to give the boy his space until he was ready to talk.

Yuugi for the time being had no idea about the secret party. He knew what day it was and how special it was to him, but he wanted to see if anyone remembered. When he woke up that morning no one had called, not even his lover, and when the children came over to hang out they said nothing about it. At first it hurt Yuugi, but then he realized maybe the children had forgotten. He had only told Yami and his children once when his birthday was, so it didn't hurt that much that they did not remember. What hurt the most was he had gotten no call from his best friend Joey. Joey would never forget his birthday or if Joey did Seto would remember and make Joey call.

"Hey Yuugi, can we have some popcorn?" Taylor asked as he got up from the couch where he was watching a movie with Ethan. It was some old black and white movie Yuugi had gotten from his grandfather's collection. The movie may have been old, but Yuugi thought it was a good movie.

Yuugi looked up from his laptop that he was using checking his email at the dining room table and nodded. "Sure and could you grab me a soda..?"

"Sure thing," Taylor disappeared into the kitchen.

Chan and Kotaro came running down the stairs with some old children's books in their hands. "Yuugi," Chan exclaimed in an excited voice. "These books are great! Why didn't you show them to us before?"

Yuugi shrugged and helped the little girl place the pile of books on the table. "I guess I didn't think you would like them. Plus none of you have ever wanted to hang out here."

"Your house is more fun than the palace!" Kotaro said with a grin.

Yuugi had to smile at that. He was glad the children were taking so well to him. The young adult adored all of them well he still wasn't sure what to think about with Jiro. The two had yet to see each other since their encounter months ago. In all honestly Yuugi wanted to understand what Jiro's problem was but on the other hand he was scared of the vampire.

Taylor broke Yuugi out of his thoughts when he placed the can of soda on the table and handed Chan and Kotaro two small bowls of popcorn. He had one big bowl for him and Ethan to share. "Hey Yuugi, if you don't mind… Would you like to go shopping with me and Ethan later this week?"

"Huh?" Yuugi looked up at the teen confused. He had never been asked to hang out with Taylor and Ethan before. "Sure, but what for?"

Taylor shrugged. "I know you hang out with Chan and Kotaro a good lot, so I thought it would be nice to ask and see if you could hang out with me and Ethan one time."

Yuugi smiled. "I'd like that Taylor. Just let me know the date and time so I know if I need to go into work or not."

Taylor agreed before going back to his movie. Jason walked into the house after being gone for thirty minutes and held up some grocery bags. "I got some more snacks."

"You really didn't have to do that Jason." Yuugi said again after he tried to talk Jason out of going shopping earlier.

Jason just grinned at him and placed the bags on the table. "Honestly Yuugi, you have no snacks here and I was hungry."

Chan and Kotaro started going through the bags to see what he got.

"Any vampire snacks you got you better take home." Yuugi commented going back to checking his email.

Jason saluted like a solider. "Aye Aye Captain!"

Yuugi rolled his eyes, but still smiled to himself. Even if no one remembered his birthday he was still having a great time with the children. He just hoped later his boyfriend would want to hang out with him. That would make the day all the more better.

* * *

To say Yuugi was shocked was far from the truth. Yuugi was in disbelief at the surprise he got when Yami called the children and asked them to come home and bring Yuugi with them. At first Yuugi had no idea what to think, but then when they got to the palace and Yuugi was led to the ball room by Yami later that night he was close to tears. The ball room was decoration for his birthday in all his favorite colors of black, crimson, and amethyst. Small tables had been placed everywhere for the party guest and there was one long table in front of the throne like chair Yami had. There were other tables along the walls with all kinds of snack foods along with the main dishes. The tower of chocolate cake with crimson and amethyst roses on it was placed in the middle of the room for all to see. Presents were placed around the cake's table in piles from all his friends. Yuugi knew none would be from family, because Yuugi had none left except for his boyfriend and the children.

Yami held Yuugi close to him as he led him into the beautiful room where all his friends were waiting with smiles. Most of the friends were from the city itself that Yuugi had made over time, but two were Seto and Joey and it made Yuugi all the more happy to see them.

Joey hurried over to Yuugi and ruffled his hair with a smile. "I bet you thought we forgot right?"

Yuugi laughed and made Joey stop messing up his hair. "I almost did for the time being."

Yami hugged Yuugi close and rubbed his back. "I'm sorry little one, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

"It's alright Yami. I'm happy you did all this for me." Yuugi said before leaning up and kissing his boyfriend. He was happy Yami went with the bandages and not the mask.

Taylor went over the stereo that had been placed in the room also and turned on some music. "Let's get this party started!"

The children cheered and started to dance to the music, while most of the older individuals moved to the refreshment tables first.

Yami held out his hand to Yuugi. "May I have this dance?"

Yuugi nodded and let Yami led him into a dance.

"Happy Birthday Yuugi…" Yami whispered in his ear as they dance.

Yuugi smiled and wrapped his arms around Yami's neck. "Thank you so much for all of this."

* * *

Later in the week Yuugi found himself hanging out with Taylor and Ethan. They went to different stores and looked around and in a few they would buy something. Yuugi found out Taylor and Ethan loved to shop. They were two guys Yuugi wouldn't picture liking to shop, but they did.

As they walked out of their fourth store, Yuugi sighed. "This is a lot of walking…"

Taylor looked to Yuugi worried for a moment. "Yeah sorry about all this, we love to shop…"

Ethan rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Being vampires we don't get tired very easily…"

Yuugi nodded and sat down on a bench in the shopping center. "Just give me a few minutes and I should be fine…"

"Hey I'll go get us some drinks…" Taylor said running off looking for a vending machine.

Ethan took a seat beside Yuugi and sat their bags in front of them. The two sat in silence for a while watching the people go by. It was a few minutes, before Ethan spoke up.

"I've noticed this family has been a lot happier with you around." Ethan commented.

Yuugi looked at him. "Really, because I haven't noticed a difference…"

Ethan chuckled. "That is because you didn't know us before. At first none of us kids would hang out with each other much except when we ate meals. It was always Chan and Kotaro together. Jason would run off with his friends and Jiro would…well Jiro still disappears for days on end."

Yuugi looked down at his hands. "I don't want to be mean, but what is wrong with Jiro?"

"What do you mean?"

Yuugi looked around them before looking up at Ethan. "Promise not to tell your father?"

Ethan nodded. "Taylor would tell, but I won't if you don't want me to."

Yuugi sighed before deciding to finally tell someone what had happened. "It was a couple months ago, when we had that sleepover and Jiro stopped me in the hall one night. I was checking up on Chan and Kotaro before heading back to my room…" He decided to leave him staying in Yami's room out of the picture for a while longer. "As I was going down the hall, Jiro stopped me and basely told me I did not belong in this family."

"Are you sure?" Ethan asked, it wasn't like he didn't believe Yuugi, but this was his younger brother Yuugi was talking about. "I have never heard of him acting like that."

"I wasn't dreaming this either. I was shocked myself, because at first Jiro seemed like he wanted nothing to do with me. Now he acts like he hates me." Yuugi explained.

Ethan leaned back on the bench and looked up at the sky in thought. "He has never taken kindly to new people we knew that. He could just be jealous of you being human while he is trapped a vampire. You do remember him being forced into being a vampire…"

Yuugi nodded. "I would understand if he was jealous, but the way he looked at me was like he wanted to kill me."

Ethan wrapped an arm around Yuugi and patted his shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it right now. Just let things run its course and if he tries anything tell me or Yami."

Yuugi agreed. He knew as of right now something could have been going on in Jiro's life that was stressing him out. It was not Yuugi's place to question Jiro about his behavior, but if he tried something Yuugi knew he would need to tell Yami. "Thanks for listening to me."

"Anytime Yuugi, we may look young, but we have had years of wisdom dumped on us..."

"Speak for yourself…" Taylor said as he walked up only catching what Ethan said at the end. "What are you two talking about?"

Yuugi smiled up at Taylor. "We were just talking is all…"

Taylor left it alone and gave Ethan and Yuugi their drinks. "So who is ready to get going?"

Yuugi groaned making both Ethan and Taylor laugh at him. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

A few days later, it was quiet in the palace when Yuugi stepped into the foyer. He got a call from Yami asking if he could come over later after work for dinner, so he agreed. Normally when Yuugi came over to the palace it was busy with people everywhere doing their work or citizens coming in to talk to Yami about certain problems happening in the city.

However this time Yuugi was able to calmly walk down the many hallways toward his boyfriend's office without running into someone or the children. When he arrived at said office he knocked on the door.

"Enter!" Yami yelled from behind the closed door.

Yuugi opened the door and stepped in before closing it behind him. The room was dark except for the light coming in from the window behind Yami's desk. Yami was sitting at his desk typing away at a laptop.

"Could you lock the door?"

Yuugi nodded and did as told before moving toward Yami's desk. "You sounded worried on the phone. What's going on?"

Yami removed his mask and rubbed his forehead. "There was an attack in the city not too far from where you work and I just feel better if you are here."

Yuugi moved around the desk and laid a hand on Yami's shoulder. "What happened?"

The King sighed and lean back in his seat, "I'm still learning all the details, but apparently we have a new born vampire on our hands and he or she attacked some humans. All new born vampires are supposed to be registered here in the palace and then they are required to live in the vampire part of town under watch until I say they are safe to be around humans." He grabbed some papers off his desk and looked over them again. "Somehow this vampire got away and went into town. I do not know if it was on purpose or they thought they were ready to be around humans. However there are three dead humans now and the city is in a slight panic because the vampire is still out there somewhere. Taylor and Ethan went into town to see if they can find out more about what had happened and most of my council is out looking for the vampire."

Yuugi tried to remember hearing anything, but everything had seemed fine where he was working. "I hadn't heard anything and no one was talking about it around my work."

"Believe me I'm quick to find out these things after they happen and I'm sure some humans have yet to learn about it. I've tried to keep it quiet until I know all the details. I don't want everyone in a panic and think I'm not doing anything to stop this vampire." Yami explained. "With this vampire still on the loose I worry about you being out."

It warmed Yuugi's heart that his boyfriend cared about his safety. He knew Yami loved him and they had been going strong for over a year now, but it always blew Yuugi away at how much Yami truly did care about him.

Yuugi reached down and kissed Yami's cheek. "At least you were worried about me. I'm glad to have a wonderful boyfriend like you looking out for me."

Yami reached up and pushed Yuugi's bangs out of his face. "I'm always going to worry about you. I love you."

"I love you too." Yuugi replied back before kissing Yami on the lips. This ended up leading to some making out until a few minutes later there was a different knock on the door.

"Yo dad!" Taylor shouted through the door. "We have some new information!"

Yami broke from the kiss and put his mask back on. Yuugi got up from Yami's lap and straighten his clothes before hurrying to the door. He opened the door to both Taylor and Ethan standing on the other side.

Taylor grinned when he saw Yuugi. "Oh and why was the door locked?"

Yuugi rolled his eyes and let the two in.

"It would be smart not to tease my boyfriend Taylor." Yami spoke up. "Now what news do you have for me?"

Taylor and Ethan stepped into the room and Yuugi shut the door again. The two teens stood in front of the desk with Ethan laying pictures out on the desk.

"It appears the vampire is male and we found out it was his lover who turned him. The lover was out of the house and the two vampires assigned to watch him apparently failed on their job, but they won't talk to us." Ethan explained listing off things he remembered. "A few humans who were around the area said they saw the vampire walking around. They didn't think anything of it until a teen fell off his skateboard and cut his hand. The vampire went to help him up and they guessed the blood on the teen's hand got to him."

Taylor dropped a tape on Yami's desk next. "This was from the shop across the street and we look at other tapes from other shops. All of them show the same thing that was described and it wasn't a pretty site when he went after that teen and two other people."

"Whoa hold up…there are tapes outside every shop?" Yuugi questioned not believing what he was hearing. He turned to Yami with his hands on his hips. "You better not have been spying on me."

Yami was quick to shake his head. "No, the cameras outside every shop are to keep up with how the vampires interact with humans. It's for protection for all humans and to help deal with situations like this. They have been in place since this city upgraded into the technology age."

At that moment the door to the office opened and Yumi hurried into the room with a folder. "Brother, Mahado got DNA off the bodies and found out who the vampire is." She opened the folder and listed off what was inside. "Takai Ibaraki entered the city ten years ago and he is at the current age of thirty five. He lived in the human/vampire part of town for five years until he got married one year ago and two months ago he was changed by his wife who was a vampire. They moved to the vampire part of town like asked a few days after the change."

She looked up and handed the folder to Yami when he moved from his desk and approached her.

Yami looked over the information himself seeing the address listed of their last known address. "Taylor, Ethan I want the two of you to come with me so we can talk to his wife. She may know his location at the moment if he is hiding."

As the two went to follow Yami out of the office, Yuugi spoke up. "Hey what about me?"

Yami looked at his boyfriend. "It's too dangerous for you to come with. Yumi will take you to the kitchen to get something to eat."

Yuugi crossed his arms and gave Yami a stern look. "I don't like you running off to god knows where and I have no idea what is going to happen. I want to come with and help."

"Yuugi I'll be fine I can handle this, but I can't risk you getting hurt."

Taylor looked between the two and knew neither would give. He knew both long enough to know how stubborn they could be. "Dad maybe he should come with."

Ethan and Yami looked at Taylor like he had grown another head well at least Ethan did as it was hard to tell what Yami was sporting on his face with the mask.

Taylor put his hands on his hips and gave them a serious look, which was weird for him. "Listen I know it sounds dumb, but seriously if Yami and Yuugi were to get married, Yuugi would also be in charge of helping dad rule the city. He needs to see how we handle these situations and besides he has us three around him. No vampire would dare take dad's boyfriend."

Yami still didn't agree. "No, I can't risk it at all. Besides Yuugi doesn't need to see how we handle situations like these. I can't be responsible for putting the wrong images about vampires in his head."

Yuugi couldn't help but glared at his lover. "Well I'm not giving you a choice. I can handle myself just fine and have for years. You may be the King of his city, but you don't rule my life!"

Ethan, Taylor, and Yumi all stared at Yuugi with wide eyes. They couldn't believe someone had just talked back at Yami like that. The three turned to look at Yami and see what he would do.

The only thing Yami did was turn and start walking away. "Taylor and Ethan keep a close eye on him while were talking to the wife." He called over his shoulder not once looking back.

Yuugi looked at Yami's retreating figure worried for a moment that he might have messed up his relationship with Yami. It wasn't like he was asking for much, but he was not going to be left behind.

Taylor put an arm around Yuugi and led him down the hall with Ethan not far behind. "Don't worry Yuugi, he hates when something like this happens. He doesn't want anyone else dying over an out of control vampire."

"What do you do to handle a situation like this?" Yuugi asked wanting to know what he might be witnessing. Yami never told him what happens to a vampire who kills humans.

"Sadly even if the vampire didn't mean to it's the same thing for all vampires who kill humans or ones who bite humans or change them by force. They all even up the same…" Ethan began explaining to Yuugi with Taylor finishing his sentence.

"Dead..."

* * *

Sakura: So Yami is now on a man hunt for a rouge vampire… I had to stir up some trouble to keep people interested in the story. Oh and no Jiro has nothing to do with this before anyone ask.

Yumi: Review!


	16. Chapter 16

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **I really don't have much to say for this chapter except that there will be a fight and blood. It is nothing overly gory because that isn't my style so I'm sure most won't have to run away and can read the chapter with no problems, but there is also death in this, but to a minor OC character, who doesn't even have a name.

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**The Vampires**

Time to walk on the vampire side of life

* * *

As soon as Yuugi stepped out of the palace he was swept off his feet by his boyfriend and quickly carried to the other side of town, the vampire side of town. Everything was a blur as the three vampires ran through the city to the other side easily dodging people and vehicles. Yuugi, not used to going so fast, had to hide his face in Yami's chest to keep the feeling of being sick away. His stomach was doing flips and there was no way he wanted to see his lunch again.

The sun was starting to set when they stopped just outside the tall black iron gates leading into the vampire side of town. The fences weren't so much as to keep the vampires in because they could leave if they please to go into the downtown area, but it was more to keep the humans out. Some vampires could not handle themselves around humans and Yami did not want to take the chance of a human stumbling in a place they didn't belong. Most vampires would wait until night when humans were supposed to be asleep to go into the downtown area for shopping or other things they wanted to do. However if humans were out late at night the vampires knew to leave them alone or face the wrath of their King.

It was never smart to mess with the King. That is what kept the vampires at bay with leaving the humans alone. If the vampires so much as tried to get rid of the humans then the humans would be pulled from the city and the vampires would all end up dying from lack of blood. It was a terrible way for a vampire to die to put it simple.

Yuugi looked up at the iron gates to see the sharp points at the top. They would probably do some serious damage to someone like him from the looks of them. "I didn't think it would look so…" He really didn't know of a word to describe the place. From what he could see so far the place looked dark, deserted and creepy.

"Creepy, ugly, terrifying…" Taylor said with chuckle. "I suppose it does, but that is how most vampires like it. Some can't stand the bright things in life like the sun or bright colors for that matter. I just think it looks this way to look unappealing to humans."

Yuugi had to agree. "I don't think I could of stand living in a place like this."

Yami went to put Yuugi down so he could walk. "The sun is starting to go down so more vampires will start coming out." He turned to look down at his lover. "I want you to stay close to all three of us understood?"

The way Yami was talking to him made Yuugi feel like a child. He was a grown man and King or no King Yuugi did not want Yami treating him like a helpless human. "Listen Yami I know the dangers I'm putting myself in…. No I take that back I don't know the dangers I am putting myself in, but I want to see what you do. There is no telling if something like this will ever happen again and I want to know how to handle it if it does. I'm sure you would feel better if I was a vampire, but I'm not one yet and I'm sure you don't plan on changing me any time soon." Yuugi fixed Yami with a serious look before asking a serious question. "So it's either I come with you now or you return home with me?"

Ethan and Taylor stood to the side to see what Yami would say. It bugged them a little that they couldn't read the look on their father's face, but they were sure he was thinking over all his options before putting Yuugi's life at risk.

After what seemed like forever but was only a minute, Yami sighed and pulled Yuugi close. "Fine you may come with us, but I don't want you to leave my side."

Yuugi smiled glad he settled things between them. He didn't want Yami being mad at him for coming along when he knew he shouldn't.

The King took his cape off his shoulders and wrapped it around Yuugi's small frame. Yuugi gratefully took it and then allowed Yami to put an arm around his shoulders.

With everyone ready Taylor and Ethan opened the gates to lead the way. They were beginning their hunt for the rouge vampire.

* * *

The house they stood before was quiet with no lights on. The small front yard had dead grass with dirt patches all around. The stone path was rocky and hard to walk on as they tried to reach the front door. The house was black in color as was every house on that street. There were no street lights so with the sun setting there would be no way for Yuugi to see anything before long.

Yami kept an arm around Yuugi and at one point Yuugi had to loosen Yami's grip on his hand because he was holding on too tight.

Ethan knocked on the door and the four stood on the pouch waiting to see if anyone would answer.

They waited for ten minutes and after Taylor started pounding on the door it finally opened.

The woman behind the door had this pissed off look on her face, until she saw who was pounding on her door. "I'm so sorry your majesty. I had just woken up and I thought it was another reporter." She apologized before allowing all of them to enter.

"That is alright Mrs. Ibaraki and I too wish this was a better visit, but we need to know if you know where your husband is." Yami politely asked as they all took seats in the dark but cozy living room. Everything was black from the furniture to the walls.

Yami had taken a seat on the couch with Ethan and Taylor on either side of him and Yuugi forced to sit on his lap.

Mrs. Ibaraki took a seat across from them sitting in a black recliner. She was a beautiful woman to say the least. She had long dark brown hair and hazel eyes with a hint of red in them. She was dressed in a pair of black silk sleep pants and a matching silk shirt.

She grabbed a pillow that was behind her and hugged it to her chest. Her eyes were red rimmed from crying and it looked like she could cry at any minute. "I wish I did know where he was. I knew I should have kept a better eye on him, but my friends wanted a girl's day out yesterday and I spend the night at a friend's house and I figured the watchers would be able to handle him." She had to wipe at her eyes as the tears started to fall again.

Yuugi felt sorry for the woman. Her husband was in deep trouble, but at the same time he had a wife at home worried sick over him. He also knew things would be harder on her when her husband would have to die for his actions.

"Where are the watchers at the moment?" Ethan asked getting ready to write down some notes on a pad he had.

"I'm not sure… they told me they had to check in at the palace over what happened and try and help figure out how my husband slipped past them. I came home as soon as they call me about what happened and I guess news travels fast because as soon as I got home reporters were hanging around my house." She blushed as she looked down at her clothes. "I came home so fast that I didn't even change out of my sleep clothes."

Taylor looked at his father confused. "We didn't even know the name of her husband until later. How would reporters know his name when it just happened today?"

"Why don't you go and see if you can find out how they found out…" Yami told Taylor. "Also make sure they tell the truth or they will have to deal with me."

Taylor nodded and hurried out of the house to do just that.

Ethan started to ask Mrs. Ibaraki some questions while Yami and Yuugi sat quietly listening. However it wasn't long before Yuugi had to go to use a bathroom since work had been busy that day so he had to excuse himself for a moment.

"Mrs. Ibaraki, would it be okay if I use the bathroom?" Yuugi asked interrupting her conversation with Ethan.

She nodded and told him the way. "Down the hall and just past the kitchen it should be on the left. It might be a mess since I haven't gotten around to cleaning, so if you like you can use the one upstairs in the master bedroom."

Yuugi smiled. "Believe me I've seen worst bathrooms. I'll be fine with the downstairs one." He got up to leave but Yami's arms had tightened around his waist.

"Bathroom then right back here alright…" Yami whispered in his ear.

Yuugi nodded and got out of Yami's arms. He headed out of the room off to find the bathroom.

Three sets of eyes watched him leave however one pairs of eyes looked on with an evil glint in them. Then it was gone as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Yuugi let out a sigh as he exited the bathroom after doing his business. He looked around the dark house and was amazed he could see where he was going without tripping. It was then he noticed the rose necklace Yami gave him that he never took off was glowing. It had a light glow to it even under the dark cloak he wore.

He reached under the cloak and pulled it out. It was even more beautiful with the light glow to it. "I wonder where Yami got this…" He mumbled to himself. He never thought to ask Yami how he got the necklace or where it came from.

Something broke in the hallway and Yuugi quickly turned around to see a broken vase behind him. He looked down the dark hallway but saw nothing that could have caused it to break. Kneeling down next to the vase Yuugi reached out to pick up the pieces. It was then he felt something wet on the floor and the vase.

"What in the…" He reached with his other hand to make his necklace light up the broken vase and was shocked to find blood all over it and when he looked up blood was dripping from the table it had been sitting on.

Footsteps than sounded in front of him and he looked toward the darkness to see a figure standing there.

"Hello?" Yuugi called out. "Who are you?"

The figured turned and started to walk away. Curiosity getting the better of him Yuugi decided to follow the person. This could happen to be the vampire they were looking for but Yuugi wanted to make sure before calling out to Yami.

He followed the figure until the person opened a back door and walked out of the house. Yuugi walked out of the door too and watched as the figure headed to the open fence door that leads out of the backyard and into an alley.

"Wait!" Yuugi called out to the person. "Are you Mr. Ibaraki?"

The person turned to look at Yuugi and with the rising moon's light Yuugi looked on with wide eyes as the person before him was covered in blood it stained his clothes and mouth.

A deep chuckle came from the person before he ran and jumped over the fence.

Yuugi ran after him not sure what he could do but knew he had to do something before the man got away. There was no way he was going to allow a killer to get away with what he had done. As he ran out of the backyard and into the alley he had no idea of the danger he was putting himself in.

* * *

The only light was coming from his necklace as Yuugi walked the dark streets. He pulled the cloak he had on closer around him as he tried to figure out the way back to the Ibaraki home. Vampires of all types had started to venture out after the sun had set. It didn't take long for Yuugi to lose the vampire he had been chasing and was left in unfamiliar streets.

Yuugi made sure to keep away from any more alleys, but from the way things looked Yuugi wouldn't have to worry about alleys. The streets themselves were dangerous enough.

The vampires that walked passed him would stop and stare before moving on when Yuugi hurried past. He was hoping Yami's cloak smelled like a vampire so they wouldn't bug him. '_On second thought_…' Yuugi thought to himself as he sniffed the fabric. '_What_ _does a vampire smell like_?'

To him Yami's cloak smelled like sand and spices. It reminded him of Egypt and its warm desert air.

Shrugging to himself he continued his walk, but stopped out of nowhere when he saw boy about to run into the street after his ball not even looking both ways. Yuugi hurried to the boy out of instinct to protect the child and grabbed his arm. "That is dangerous, you should look both ways."

The boy looked up at him like he had lost his mind. "I was just getting my ball." From the look of the boy he could be no older than ten with black hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a soccer uniform like he was getting ready to go to a game.

"Oh my…" Yuugi turned to see a woman walking out of the house behind them. She was beautiful like most vampires with perfect skin and not looking a day over twenty. She had long red hair and hazel eyes.

The woman walked up to the two and patted what Yuugi figured was her son on the head. "I'm sorry if he is causing trouble."

Yuugi shook his head. "No he wasn't but he was about to cross the road without looking."

The woman chuckled lightly. "Ah I see you aren't from around here." She looked at him carefully before some type of realization lit up in her eyes. "You are the King's mate if I'm not mistaken."

Yuugi nodded deciding to play the safe card. If people knew he belonged to Yami then maybe they would leave him alone. "I'm here on business with him, but I have gotten lost. If you don't mind me asking how do you know who I am..?"

The woman smiled. "News travels fast among vampires and it was rumor that the King had taken on a human mate who looked like him." She patted his head like he was a child. "You are a cute thing and I'm sure the King is lucky to have you."

"Thank you…" Yuugi politely told her still a little uncomfortable being around unfamiliar vampires.

The ten year old looked up at his mother and crossed his arms. "Mom can I get my ball already so we can go to my game..?"

"Soccer game..?" Yuugi questioned. He had no idea vampires played games much less had soccer games with teams of forever ten year olds.

The woman nodded her head. "Believe it or not there are a lot more children in these parts who are forever children. " She turned to her son. "You go ahead and get your ball."

The boy grinned and raced off across the street to get his ball. The woman smiled and turned back to Yuugi. "If you like you can walk with us and I'm sure we can find the King and return you to his side. There are some dangerous vampires in these parts who hate humans."

Yuugi quickly agreed even if he didn't know them. So far they had been nothing but kind to him and it was his only ticket back to his boyfriend. "So how do you feel about humans?" He asked as they started to walk down the street with the ten year following behind still playing with his ball.

She shrugged. "Not much to say about them seeing as I was one not too long ago. I was twenty when I came here with my boyfriend for a new start from my overprotective parents. They hated he got me pregnant right out of high school, but I was happy because the man I loved and I were going to start a family. Long story short when Alex, my son, was ten we got into a car crash that seriously injury both my husband and him. The doctor didn't think they would make it but I didn't want to see them die and be left alone. I made a deal with a vampire doctor who turned them so they could live. Years later I decided to have my husband change me and we moved into the vampire part of town." She explained, before blushing. "Sorry if I started to ramble about my life, my husband has told me I can be a chatter box."

Yuugi shook his head. "That's alright. I'm glad to know there are vampires in this part of town who don't mind a human's presence."

Alex's mother smiled back at him. "I would say it's a good thing you stumbled into Alex because I would have hated for you to have run into the wrong kind of vampires." She paused to shake hands with Yuugi. "I'm Ellen by the way." She looked around at the street corner they stopped at. "So when was the last place you saw the King?"

Yuugi thought over the address he remembered the house being at and told her about the place.

Ellen tapped her chin in thought. "I think I know where that is, but my husband would know more." She pulled out her phone. "He left earlier to get the field ready for the game so let me just call and ask."

Alex continued to play with his ball as Ellen turned her back to them and talked on the phone. Yuugi sighed and lean against the corner of a building they stood in front of. The vampire part of the city was mostly living areas with houses, but some corners had clubs for vampires and there were even small shops on some streets. They had stopped outside a flower shop that sold only black and red roses.

With a sigh Yuugi looked up at the moon as it was high in the sky by now. He wanted so badly to be back in Yami's arms and possible lying on his nice warm bed. Lost in the day dream of him and Yami, Yuugi didn't see the figure that had come up behind him, before it was too late.

Ellen turned back around and an eyebrow rose when she didn't see Yuugi anywhere. "Where did the King's mate go?" She turned to her son who shrugged his shoulders.

Even if it was no concern of hers Ellen still worried about Yuugi since this part of town was no place for a human. "Alex, go straight to the park and get your father. I'm going to find the King."

The two went their own ways not even knowing Yuugi wasn't too far away from them.

* * *

Yuugi struggled against the figure that had him pinned against the wall in the alley behind the flower shop. There were three figures in all and it was no surprise they were vampires. They grin evilly at him flashing their fangs just waiting to take a bite.

The one holding Yuugi had his mouth covered so he couldn't scream and that made things even more worst.

"It seems luck is on our side tonight boys." The one who was holding Yuugi said to his buddies. "We don't get humans in our part of town anymore."

"Who gets the first bite?" One of the buddies asked.

Yuugi's eyes started to water with tears. He didn't want strange vampires biting him and sucking his blood dry. He hadn't even let Yami have a taste of his blood. What made him even more scared was the fact that one of the vampires had gold eyes, which meant one bite, and he would turn into a vampire weather he wanted to or not given they didn't kill him first.

"I think I should, given I put my neck out to grab him."

There was a small disagreement between them until they finally decided that the one who had grabbed Yuugi would go first. Yuugi closed his eyes tightly as his head was forced to the side and his neck exposed. Just one bite and his life would be over.

However what Yuugi didn't expect was to be dropped to the ground on his butt. Hope came to him that Yami had come to rescue him, but when he reopened his eyes, he found that the bloody Mr. Ibaraki had come to his rescue or so he thought it was Mr. Ibaraki. The bloody vampire had yet to say his name so Yuugi wasn't sure who the person was.

The vampire who had been holding Yuugi lay forgotten on the ground with his head missing. Blood was come out of the body and what really freaked Yuugi out was the body was still moving.

There was a dark chuckle that came from the bloody vampire before the other two vampires took off not wanting to risk their immortal lives with a crazy vampire. "Weak fools don't know who they are messing with…" He grabbed a wooden stake out of his back pocket of his jeans and forced it through the vampire's heart. At first the headless body struggled before it lay still. The head not too far away had a pain expression on its face before it too lay still with its eyes closed.

Yuugi at first thought he was safe until the vampire turned on him. A shiver ran through his spine when he saw the pure look of evil and hate in those eyes. He moved back as close as he could to the wall. "Please don't hurt me! I promise not to tell anyone I have seen you!" Yuugi pleaded even if he hated feeling weak, but he was no match against a vampire.

"I must complete my mission." The vampire spoke before moving down and picking Yuugi up by his throat.

Yuugi clawed at the hands around his throat trying to break free and get air back in his lungs. The grip was too strong, but he wasn't ready to die.

"YUUGI!"

For the second time Yuugi was dropped, but this time not on the ground. He was kept close in a pair of warm arms. Carefully he opened his eyes that he hasn't realized he had closed and looked up to see his lover holding him in a protective hold.

Relief washed over him and he was quick to turn and wrap his arms around Yami. Tears rolled like waves out of his eyes as he cried on Yami's shoulder.

Yami held Yuugi close and kept a firm grip on him as he looked up at Ethan who had the vampire in a head lock. The vampire kept trying to escape, but Ethan proved to be stronger.

"Ethan…"

Ethan looked to his father.

"Take Mr. Ibaraki back to the palace and find out his weakness. I would like to have a talk with him and get Jason to come back and pick up Mrs. Ibaraki. Also get someone to come clean up this mess in this alley before the vampires around here start to worry."

"Where are you going father?"

Yami looked down at his lover with concern eyes. "I'm going to take Yuugi home and make sure he is alright."

Before Ethan could speak anymore Yami had disappeared with Yuugi. He sighed and knocked Mr. Ibaraki out before dragging him back to the palace. It seemed there was more going on than a simple rouge vampire.

* * *

Sakura: Little note here at the end for some of you who had forgotten. I'm not making all vampires weak against the same thing. Some vampires are weak against silver like Yami; some can be killed by wooden stakes… Some vampires are even weak against everything that can kill a vampire. There are so many books out there with different ways to kill a vampire that I decided to add a bunch of ways. If you don't remember Yami being weak against silver you can look back at chapter 11.

Also before readers question this... Vampire children may be weak against certain things, but if hit by a car they won't be killed that is why Alex didn't look both ways, however Yuugi didn't know that. Decided I would point that out in case people were confused.

Yumi: Review!


	17. Chapter 17

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **I think I confused a good few readers with last chapter by the attack so I'm hoping some things will be cleared up this chapter! My readers will just have to read and find out!

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Secret Plans**

Traitors come in all shapes and forms…

* * *

The attack on Yuugi's life seemed to have hit the adult harder than even he imagined. As soon as they made it back to Yami's room in the palace, Yuugi refused to let Yami go. The two lay in the huge bed letting the worry and fear wash away with the silence. Neither knew what to say to the other.

Once Yuugi realized he was safe and his life was no longer in danger, he did let Yami get him a change of clothes. The King also got a wet wash cloth from the bathroom so he could wipe the blood away from Yuugi's body. Yuugi himself hadn't even noticed that he was covered in the blood from the vampire Mr. Ibaraki had killed.

A blush creeped up onto Yuugi's face, as Yami undressed him and cleaned him off before redressing him. Yuugi felt like a child being taken care of by a mother and it was embarrassing, but he knew Yami meant well. In all honestly Yuugi knew he wouldn't of been able to do anything with how shaken he was by everything that had happened.

It wasn't long before the two were curled up under the covers. Yami was gently running his fingers through Yuugi's hair to not only calm the young adult, but for Yami's sake as well. So badly Yami wanted to confront Mr. Ibaraki and kill him for what he almost did to his lover. If Yami had only been there a few minutes too late he would have lost something just as precious to him as his children were. Yuugi was more than a lover to Yami, he was the soul mate Yami had been waiting for all his immortal life.

"Why did you leave the house?" It was the first question asked from Yami to break the silence that had come over them.

In all honestly it wasn't a hard question however Yuugi wasn't sure himself why he left the house. It would have been simple to run back to Yami and tell him he had found Mr. Ibaraki. There had just been something pulling him to find out who the mystery person was before confronting Yami. "I don't know…"

Yami took off his mask and looked down at Yuugi. They stared at each other, amethyst and crimson with the same love, worry, and fear in their eyes. The mask fell from Yami's hands when he threw it across the room, before he pulled his young love into a heated kiss.

The moment was far from romantic for the pair, but they both knew they needed to feel each other. They needed that kiss to show that they were still with each other.

When Yami pulled away from Yuugi he pressed his forehead against his lover's. "Promise me you will never do that again…" He pleaded. He needed to hear that nothing like what had happen would happen again.

Yuugi nodded his head and wrapped his arms around Yami's neck. "I promise…" He looked up at Yami and hated that he had been the one to make Yami look so scared. "You're not mad are you?"

Yami was quick to shake his head. "I was at first, but now I'm just glad that you are safe in my arms again."

The two went quiet again as they lay together. Deep down Yuugi knew he wouldn't hear the end of this just yet. There was no way something this serious wouldn't have Yami mad on some level. However for the moment both were just happy Yuugi was alive. The seriousness of the situation could be handled at a later time, when Yami wasn't full on attached to Yuugi.

* * *

When day break broke, Yami was awoken by a knock on his bedroom door. He let out a yawn and sat up stretching his arms and legs. The King had no idea he had even fallen asleep the night before, but he guessed after everything that had happened sleep over took him before he even knew it.

As Yami got out of bed he retrieved his fallen mask and slipped it on before answering the door. He unlocked and opened it only to be greeted by the twins. The two said their good mornings before asking to speak with him in private. Taking a look back at the bed to see Yuugi still asleep, Yami left the room and closed the door.

"We will speak in my office…" he announced leading the way. The twins agreed following after him. It may have been early in the morning, but Yami knew the twins were worried about the events that happened the day before. It was good to get the matter dealt with as soon as possible so they could get back to their lives.

* * *

The three by passed even ordering some breakfast for that morning as they entered Yami's office. Yami took a seat behind his desk, while the twins took up two seats in front of the desk. The desk was a mess at the moment, but it only took Yami two seconds to clear it off and put the documents in a desk drawer to be organized later.

"So what can you tell me?" Yami questioned as he lean back in his seat and crossed his arms.

The twins looked at each other for a brief moment before Taylor decided to be the first to speak. "We were going to relay this information to you yesterday, however Ethan told me about what had happened after I left, so we both decided to wait until morning…" He explained before getting to the real news he needed to speak with his father about. "I did as asked and found out how the reporters found out information we hadn't even had at the moment. It turns out early that afternoon letters were sent to the newspaper and magazine companies that an attack would happen within an hour of them getting the letters and even stated who would be the one attacking."

"I take it they were too lazy to report to their King that an attack would happen." Yami stated clearly anger. Every letter of a threat to his city fake or real was to be reported to him. It was what kept his city safe and the people at peace.

Taylor shrugged his shoulders. "Apparently they didn't believe the letters themselves until after the attack had happened. The companies sent reporters out to investigate on the attack and according to the reporters who covered the story they didn't think to come tell their King what was going on." Taylor placed a folder he had been carrying on the desk for Yami to look at. "I did however get them to hold off publishing anything and got the threat letters from each company. I know I shouldn't threaten our people but I told them if they went against us again they were to be put before a trial for treason."

Yami agreed whole-heartily with his son. "I may not charge them with treason, but I will shut down any of the companies that publish anything on this attack until it has been cleared. We need to get all facts straighten out so as not to worry the people."

As his father looked over the letters in the folder, Ethan decided to relay his information. "Mrs. Ibaraki is in the wind and neither of us have any idea where she went. Taylor and I checked out her house after we got Mr. Ibaraki under control and locked away and the house is completely abandoned and it looked like she left in a hurry."

The twins knew that Yami wouldn't have been happy with that answer, when their father put the folder down and gave them his full attention. "Did you find any friends or family that could be contracted?" Yami questioned. There had to be some way of finding the woman. "We will need to find her because something isn't right here. Instead of coming to defend her husband she is running from us."

"I was able to find a friend that lived next door…" Taylor commented. "However she didn't even know that Mrs. Ibaraki had left and we could find no contracts information in the house."

"There are no next of kin or any parents listed in their files on record." Ethan added in. "There are just so many things missing and with how fast she left, I think the two may have been plotting something."

"What about Mr. Ibaraki?"

Ethan looked down at the hands in his lap. "I talked to him for a few minutes, but I only got one thing out of him, before he stopped talking." When he looked back up he saw that he had both his brother and father's full attention. With a sigh he relay the information he had been dreading since last night after hearing it. "It was Mr. Ibaraki mission to lead Yuugi away and kill him."

A deadly silence filled the room that one could hear a pen drop. Out of nowhere the twins jumped back in surprise when Yami flew up out of his seat and around his desk heading straight for the door. The two scrambled after him knowing exactly where he was going, but had no idea what he had planned.

* * *

The place was dark when he entered the room but that is how everyone liked it. It was easy to move around with his vampire sight so Jiro had no problem getting through the mess and around the crates in the old abandoned mansion. The mansion was located in the vampire part of town in the very very back where no one lived anymore. With so many vampires wanting to walk along the humans more had moved out of the vampire side of the city leaving many houses abandoned to be torn down.

He finally came along to the master bedroom which was serving as a huge office. Inside were two vampires arguing over something until he made his presence known. One of the vampires was a young male with short black hair pulled into a ponytail and dark green eyes. The female had long waist length brown hair and green eyes. The two glared at him for interrupting what was supposed to be an important meeting until Jiro fixed them with a glare of his own.

"What was the meaning of that pointless attack!" Jiro all but yelled at them.

The two flinched before the girl quickly got her composure back. She placed her hands on her hips and hissed at Jiro. "If you weren't taking your sweet time we would have had what we wanted and this city would be ours!"

The male beside her, smirked at Jiro. "If I didn't know any better I would say he is taking his sweet time because he might have feelings for the boy."

Jiro scoffed at the two. "Please my family was perfectly fine without him in our lives. He had completely ruined the family we built." He thought they both sounded ridiculous for even thinking that. "I'm waiting for the right moment to strike, but if the two of you don't back off and let me handle it then everything we have built we have been for nothing."

The girl turned to the window in the room and pulled back the black curtain that kept the sun out. She looked out over the empty area. "We will give you some more time, but the others are getting impatient Jiro. We have already dealt with Mrs. Ibaraki, but it will be up to you to get rid of Mr. Ibaraki for leading the plan to failure."

Jiro nodded and turned to leave. "My father will be sure to get rid of Mr. Ibaraki for us since he attacked Yuugi. However because of this we will be at a setback. Yuugi is sure to be protected more and it could take some time before we can strike."

Before Jiro could let himself out the girl called him back one more time, "Do not take too long Jiro, because if things don't happen soon we will have to take matters into our own hands again and this time we will not fail."

Without another word Jiro left. He had a lot of thinking to do over the next few days.

* * *

**-Two Years Later-**

Two whole years seem to pass by quickly without any more word on the subject with the attempt on Yuugi's life. Mr. Ibaraki was sentenced a week after the attack with multiple murder charges of humans and an attempt murder charge. It seemed Mr. Ibaraki knew little of a plan against the royal family just that he was given the job of killing Yuugi. Mrs. Ibaraki body was later found in her front yard, but there was no evidence to show that someone had killed her.

The case went cold after that, so Yami let it go as much as he didn't want to. Yuugi however got even closer to Yami after the attack. The two spent almost every waking moment with each other and it wasn't long before Yuugi was moving out of his house and into the palace. The move took place but three months after the attack when it seemed like Yuugi was never going to go home. Yuugi seemed quite comfortable in Yami's room, so they figured the change wouldn't be a problem.

The children all except Jiro were excited to have Yuugi living in the palace full time. After the move happened Jiro became even more distance that Yami even noticed the changes in his son. Yuugi passed off the non-social Jiro with he just wasn't sure how to handle Yami dating and getting serious with someone. Yami would often have family outings to see if Jiro would join them, but he always seem to have something else planned ahead.

Yami got his older sons to try and talk to Jiro, but even they were shut out. With not much else to do Yami let Jiro have his space, but made sure his son wasn't forgotten. He was able to get him to eat at family dinners and they did talk now and again, so he figured it wasn't too much to worry about.

Sadly no one knew that just because things were peaceful at the moment didn't mean a storm wasn't brewing…

* * *

Taylor and Ethan were surprised one sunny June afternoon to be summoned by their father when they could be out enjoying the day. They were even more surprised to enter their father's office and find not their father but the rest of their siblings.

Chan and Kotaro were playing cards in the floor. Jason was laid back on the couch snoring and Jiro was over by the window as always looking out over the city. The twins found themselves a seat and decided to wait for their father to arrive. They knew the rest of their siblings didn't know what was going on by their relaxed postures.

It wasn't but a minute later Yami came strolling into his office, shutting the door behind him. He made his way over to his desk, but did not sit behind it. Instead he picked to stand in front of it and look around at his children through his mask. "I have some important news I wish to share with all of you."

Everyone looked his way, even Jason who had decided to join them from his cat nap.

"I will not bet around the brush here and get straight to the point…" Yami took a deep breath before relaying some shocking news on them. "I'm going to propose to Yuugi…"

There was a dead silence that took over the room before everyone minus Jiro hurried over to Yami asking so many questions at once Yami wasn't sure if he could answer any of them.

"Do you have a ring?"

"When will the wedding be?"

"Can I be in the wedding daddy?"

"When are you going to propose?"

The questions went on until Yami finally had to shut his children up. "Alright!" He yelled loud enough for them to get the hint to be quiet. "Yes I have a ring, but we will know nothing about a wedding until I get Yuugi's reply."

Chan hugged her daddy's leg. "I'm so happy for you, daddy. I know Yuugi makes you very happy."

Yami patted her head glad that his children supported him.

Taylor put his hands together and grinned at his father. "So when can we start preparing an engagement party?" He asked already thinking of all the planning he could do for a party and a wedding.

"Tomorrow…" Yami told them. "I plan on putting a little something together to make it special."

Ethan put a hand on his father's shoulder and fixed him with a smile. "I know Yuugi loves you and he will say yes."

Yami nodded. "I sure hope so."

The children decided to do their own small celebration, but had to promise Yami they wouldn't let it slip to Yuugi before he could pop the question. When they all left the room, Yami turned to see Jiro still looking out the window, "You've been awful quiet Jiro is something on your mind?"

Jiro nodded his head, but never once took his eyes off the window. "I think you're making a mistake."

Yami crossed his arms. "Jiro…"

"This family was better off without him…"

"Yuugi is going to be a part of this family now Jiro. I'm not sure what is so wrong with him." Yami walked over to his son and stood beside him. When he looked out the window he could see the city, but when you look down there was the perfect view of the newly full bloom garden. Yuugi happened to be sitting by the fountain reading a book. Beside him was a small puppy German Shepard with its head sleeping on his lap. Yami got the puppy as a gift for Yuugi's last birthday, but he also knew when the dog got older it would make a good guard dog. Yuugi would look away from his book to look around at the peaceful setting before getting back to his book.

Jiro walked away from the window and started for the door. "You are making a mistake in getting engage to him father. He will only hurt you in the end." The door slammed shut after Jiro left.

Yami sighed and continued to look down at his lover. He was hoping all of his children would have been happy, but he guessed wrong. Something was seriously wrong with Jiro and Yami wanted to know what, but he knew in his heart that Yuugi was the one and nothing was going to stop him from proposing to his lover.

* * *

The next day Yuugi had a slow morning at the shop. He was leaning against the counter bored since no costumers had come. The only bright thing to his day would be seeing Yami later after work for a big surprise. Yami said he had a wonderful date planned for them, so Yuugi was looking forward to it.

The twenty four year old sighed and lazily flipped through a magazine he got when he went for a coffee run that morning. His mind drifted off to his wonderful boyfriend it was amazing how much better he felt each morning when he woke up every morning to him. Yami had done nothing but spoil him since he moved in and surprisely he loved it. Sometimes it got too much, but after some talks they came to an understanding about when to give gifts to each other or better yet when it was best for Yami to give Yuugi gifts.

The young adult was broken out of his thoughts when the doorbell rang letting him know someone had entered the shop. He looked up only to see that Jiro had entered the shop, but none of his siblings were with him. In a way this confused and scared Yuugi, but he wanted to give the distant teen a chance.

However something else seemed up when Yuugi noticed Jiro locking the door. The teen turned to Yuugi and the look in his eyes was enough to scare any grown man. "We need to talk…"

* * *

Yumi: What the freak! You are not seriously going to leave it there!

Sakura: I left it at the perfect spot! It keeps people coming back and the next chapter is really important so I decided to leave it there.

Yumi: Sometimes I will never get you and that brain of yours. (turns to readers) Please do review!


	18. Chapter 18

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **I kind of hate that I made my readers dislike Jiro and I don't think this chapter will help change that. (slowly walking away) Oh and in the beginning of this story I mentioned this story came to me in a dream. Well this chapter was my dream and I just added in all the other chapters. Let's see if I can remember everything that happened… (runs away)

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**The End to a Perfect Day**

Why did this have to happen?

* * *

The time seem to tick away too slowly for Yami as he stood in his office looking out the window down at the garden. Workers were doing their best to make the garden look perfect for when Yami proposed to his lover. As soon as Yuugi left for work that morning the children took it upon themselves to get everyone in the palace to help. Ethan and Taylor put themselves in charge of making sure everything ran smoothly and also Ethan got a news crew at late notice to film the event. Taylor wanted the proposal to be filmed live for the whole city to see, but Yami told him that he didn't want it to go public just yet. Plus Yami feared if Yuugi knew he was on TV it might make him freeze up. As of presently only the children, Yami and Yuugi's friends, palace workers, and the new crew would be there.

It wasn't as if Yuugi and Yami were getting married just yet, but the children except Jiro wanted to make a big deal out of it. As Taylor like to put it this was a once in an immortal lifetime that Yami was going to be hopefully getting engaged.

Yami reached into his back pocket and pulled out the black velvet box. He opened it to reveal the ring he had gotten Yuugi and smiled at it. "I hope he says yes." He whispered to himself before closing the box and putting it up.

If there was one thing Yami feared at the moment it was being rejected by someone he loved. He would understand if Yuugi didn't want to get married at the moment, but he feared after proposing that Yuugi might leave him if he wasn't the marrying type. That was one thing neither of them had talked about.

Yami was beyond ready to settle down and dedicate his whole life to a husband or wife and his children. Yuugi was great with the children and Yami loved him to death. They were like the perfect couple and everything was falling into place.

A knock on his office door awoke Yami from his thoughts long enough to put his mask back on. "Enter!" He announced and took a seat in his chair.

Ethan came in with a clipboard and a smile. "Everything is turning out great!" He informed Yami. "The palace workers are almost done with the garden. Most of your friends have arrived already and Seto called to say they would be here as soon as they could, but they would not be late."

Yami nodded. "Yuugi has no idea what is going on right?"

"Yes, we have made sure no one has told him. No one in the city except us here in the palace knows about the engagement. Taylor has gone to personal pick up the news crew so they will not blab to others."

"How are you brothers and sister coming along?"

Ethan looked down at his clipboard. "Chan and Kotaro are supervising the workers in the garden. Taylor is gone to get the news crew. Jason is making sure the guests are comfortable and lastly I have no idea where Jiro went. He ran off his morning and I haven't seen him since."

Yami sighed and turned his chair so he was looking out the window.

Ethan's eyes grew soft and he looked on at his father was a sad expression. None of them knew what was going on with Jiro as of late. He hated that his brother had grown distant from them, but they didn't know what to do.

In a way Ethan may have known what was wrong, but he didn't want to break his promise to Yuugi. He had promised Yuugi he wouldn't tell anyone about what Jiro had talked to him about. The only thing Ethan could do was pray some common sense would awaken in Jiro and he could be there for the proposal.

Yuugi made Yami happy, so in turn all the children should be happy for their father.

"Taylor and I are going to Yuugi's work an hour before he gets off work." Ethan continued to explain hoping his father was listening. "If you are going to change clothes I would do it while we are gone so when we return we can take Yuugi up to the room to get dressed. Also everyone will need to be outside and ready thirty minutes before we are scheduled to bring Yuugi down to the garden."

Yami agreed with those terms. "I'm sure everything will run smoothly just make sure Yuugi gets here safely."

Ethan nodded before leaving the room. He still had a lot more to get together before he had to leave to go get Yuugi.

* * *

Jiro arrived back at the palace an hour before the scheduled 'party' was to begin. He frowned at the workers as they still busied themselves around the place. Most stayed out of his way while others who almost ran into him turned tail and ran when they saw him. He was seriously not in a good mood at the moment and wanted to lock himself away in his room.

Just as he was almost to the stair case leading up to the upper levels, he ran into Ethan and Taylor all dressed up heading down the stairs. Ethan stopped him and looked at him with a worried expression.

"Hey Jiro… is everything okay?"

Jiro looked the other way and brushed pass them. Taylor growled at his younger brother, but otherwise ignored him.

Once Jiro was safely on the second level he turned down to go down the right hallway. However he stopped to lean against the wall. He could hear Ethan and Taylor talking to each other.

"I have no idea what his problem is." Taylor told Ethan, sounding angry.

Ethan sighed. "I think something personal is going on and we don't need to pry. There are people in the world who don't take kindly to change. Yuugi will be a big change to our family and Jiro might need time to adjust to that."

Taylor scoffed. "I highly doubt that. I mean Yuugi has been here for over three years. I figured he would have at least tried to get close to Yuugi by now."

Ethan started to lead his lover away. "Anyway we need to go get Yuugi. We can worry about everything else later. I want this proposal to be perfect for father."

Once the footsteps fade Jiro stood up straight and headed to his room. It wasn't until he was in the safety of his room that he finally took off his black gloves and ankle length dark brown trench coat to reveal blood stain clothes and hands.

* * *

The twins stood outside Yuugi's shop looking at the door with bewilderment. They had been standing outside for over five minutes and there was still no answer. When they had arrived to the shop they were surprised to find the place dark with the shades over the windows closed and the door locked. At first they knocked not sure if Yuugi had just locked the door to eat lunch or maybe had closed up early to do some inventory.

It was true that Ethan still had a key to the shop, but he didn't want to just barge in given Yami had handed the shop over to Yuugi to run. The shop changed owners from Yami to Yuugi after Yuugi had been in a relationship with their father for over a year. Yuugi really loved running the place and Yami never had time so it was perfect to hand it over completely to Yuugi.

Taylor tried peeking through the key hole on the door. "I figured he would be here. This morning father said that he told Yuugi he would pick him up after work for their 'date'."

"He could have had an errand to run." Ethan pointed out, but to him that didn't even make sense. The reason given the shop sign that hung in the door window still said the shop was open. It would have been changed to close if Yuugi had left.

Taylor sighed and stood back up. "Well I can't see inside with all the shades drawn."

Just then Sara stepped out of her flower shop with her broom. She was just about to start sweeping when she noticed them looking at her. "Are you two alright?"

Ethan nodded. "We are fine, but have you seen Yuugi?"

Sara shook her head. "Sorry dears, last I saw him was before lunch when he opened the shop this morning. When things slowed down around lunch, I went over to see if he wanted to have lunch with me, but no one answered the door. I figured he had already left. Business for his shop was rather slow this morning."

Taylor looked at Ethan worry in his eyes. "I think we should try and call him."

The two were in agreement on that, so Ethan pulled out his phone and dialed Yuugi's number. The cell phone went to voice mail so he left a message, before trying the shop number. They could hear the phone ringing inside but no one answered it.

After calling twice Ethan tried something else. He dialed Jason to see if they had missed Yuugi and he had arrived at the palace. Yuugi might have not been feeling well and closed the shop early to go home. However, Jason informed him that Yuugi was nowhere in the palace.

Taylor looked up and down the street. "I don't see his truck anywhere. I could have sworn he drove it this morning."

"Oh…" Sara spoke up when a thought hit her. "I did see Jiro come by an hour before lunch. He went into the shop for about thirty minutes then came out and got in Yuugi's truck. When I asked what was wrong, he informed me that Yuugi had called him and said the truck was acting funny and he needed someone to run it by the mechanic shop."

"Shit!" Ethan cursed out loud startling the other two. He fished his keys out of his pocket and was quick to make work of the door to get it open.

"Whoa… Ethan what is going on?" Taylor questioned haven't never see Ethan look so frighten in his life.

Once the door was opened the smell hit both vampires fast and hard. Ethan kept cursing to himself as he carefully stepped into the small shop and looked around the place. Taylor told Sara to return to her shop, before entering Yuugi's shop too and closing the door behind him.

The place for better words looked like a blood bath. It was on the walls, shelves, and the floor. Taylor covered his nose and mouth trying his best to keep his vampire instincts at bay. He had to keep his mind clear so that they could find Yuugi alive hopefully. However fear started to sink in as he looked around at the amount of blood in the room.

Ethan flipped on the light switch and with a serious look on his face went on the search for the small human. The smell was getting to him as much as it was to Taylor, but his determination to find Yuugi was stronger.

The search didn't take long because before they moved but an inch a small cry filled their ears. They rushed to the counter and moved around it to find Yuugi lay out on the floor. A pool of blood lay under him. His body covered in cuts that were small and swallow, but with how many there were it was sure that if they hadn't found Yuugi he would have died a slow and painful death.

Ethan carefully kneeled down by Yuugi and checked his pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief that he found one but it was weak.

The touch was enough for Yuugi to slowly and weakly open his eyes. The amethyst jewels that used to shine with happiness were dull with pain.

Neither Ethan nor Taylor waited to ask questions since Yuugi's life was in danger and took it upon themselves to pick up the badly beaten body in their arms. Taylor took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around the human. They hurried outside and took off at breath taking speed toward the palace ignoring the limo they had bought with them. It would be faster if they ran and there were no better doctors than the ones at the palace and it was closer than the hospitals. Plus both knew Yami would want Yuugi at the palace so he could personal see to Yuugi's recovery.

They hated that someone ruined such a beautiful day for the couple, but the thought of their father's rage sent a shiver down their spines. Yami was going to be beyond pissed. They just hoped he could keep his anger under control before deciding to go on a man hunt.

* * *

Yami had been in the garden seeing over the final preparations being made when the news hit him. Jason had run outside to him in tears and yelling to him that Ethan had bought in an injured Yuugi. The only thing that registered in his mind was that Yuugi had been attacked. The workers began to whisper among themselves as Yami took off faster than a normal vampire toward the hospital wing of the palace. He didn't even have to ask where Yuugi would be because he knew where his sons would take him.

The hospital wing was built for the main reason of storing blood for the vampires of the palace, because it was better there than in the kitchen. Plus the wing came in handy for the humans who worked in the palace. If someone was hurt it was faster to go to the hospital wing than go to the hospital. Isis was the head healer of the wing, but she was also well supplied with other doctors and nurses both vampire and human.

Upon entering the huge room filled with hospital beds, Yami's eye scanned the room before his vision found Isis and two other doctors working on Yuugi who lay on one of the middle beds. Blood was already staining the sheets as they tried to stop the bleeding and bandage up his wounds.

Yami hurried over to his sons as they stood not far from where Yuugi was. The look of worry and fury was easy to see on his face given he decided to wear the bandages instead of the mask for the proposal. "What happened?" He demanded and ignored the glare sent his way from Isis.

Ethan stayed a foot away from his enraged father incase fist or fangs went flying. "Listen we don't know much. When we arrived at the shop the place was locked up and Sara hadn't seen Yuugi since before lunch…"

"Sara said Jiro had taken off with Yuugi's truck and then Ethan went crazy and used his key to open the shop." Taylor finished, but got a hateful glared sent his way from Ethan.

Ethan did not want to keep anything a secret from his father, but he also didn't want to point fingers at Jiro until they knew all the facts. Yuugi was the most important at the moment, plus he was the only one who could tell them the real person who had attacked him.

Yami let out this inhuman roar before he took off. Taylor and Ethan were hot on his tail as he torn past everything and everyone in a blur on the way to Jiro's room. Ethan tried his hardest to keep up with his father while all the time yelling at him to stop.

"Father!" He shouted after him however the King would have none of that. It wasn't long before they reached the room and Yami all but ripped the door off its hinges.

All three looked into the room to see everything as it should be but Jiro was nowhere to be found. Then all eyes landed on the bloodstain clothes lying on the floor. Yami stepped up to the clothes and picked up the shirt. He gave it a smell and when Yuugi's scent came back to him his rage went up pass its boiling point. He turned on his sons who backed up scared to get attacked.

"Find him and find him now!" He yelled at them leaving no room for argument. The two nodded and took off not wanting to upset their father any more than he already was.

Yami threw the shirt down and glared at the ground. He took deep breaths to try and calm himself down, but nothing was going to work. His lover was on death's bed because of his idiot son. He should have known something like this would happen with how distance Jiro was. The thing was he didn't want to think one of his sons was so upset with the proposal that he would try and kill Yuugi.

No he knew something deeper was going on with Jiro than even he could imagine.

* * *

It was no surprise that within thirty minutes the news of the attack of Yuugi traveled fast. There was no stopping it once it started and Yami didn't want it to. He wanted everyone to know what had happened. If the people knew then he hoped someone would come forward with some information if they saw anything funny around the time Yuugi was attacked.

The King sat beside Yuugi's hospital bed once Isis and the other doctors were done. He was bandaged like a mummy from his neck all the way to his feet. His chest, back, legs, and arms suffered the worst of the attack sporting multiple cuts. His face had a few, but they weren't bleeding like the others had. Isis had just placed a couple small Band-Aids on the cuts to his face. The back of his right hand held an IV line that was pumping blood back into Yuugi's body.

Tears welled up in Yami's eye as he looked on at Yuugi's sleeping form. Isis had informed him that Yuugi would be fine after the blood transfusion and some much needed sleep, but the fact that Yami could have lost Yuugi stayed with him. The thought scared him and he wasn't sure how to act.

The only other time Yami had felt this way was when his father had died. Other than that it had been years since Yami knew of real heart ache.

The door to the hospital wing slowly opened up to show the rest of his children minus Jiro, who was nowhere to be found. The whole city was on the lookout for him, but there was no doubt in Yami's mind that he had gone into hiding.

Ethan was the first to pull up a chair and sit down beside Yami. Chan and Kotaro took to standing on either side of Yami. They both wrapped their small arms around Yami's arms in comfort. Taylor and Jason stood opposite the bed to them looking down at Yuugi.

"He didn't deserve this…" Taylor said to end the silent. It felt like a funeral had just taken place with how quiet it was.

Yami didn't say anything and looked down to the rose necklace in his hands. Yuugi always wore it like he said he would, but Isis had taken it off and given it to Yami so it wouldn't get lost. The cool metal in his hands felt like a heavy weight because it wasn't where it belonged.

Ethan noticed Yami's staring and took it upon himself to reach over and place a hand on top of his father's. "We will make sure things get better." He vowed. "I will not let this attack go unjust. We will personal find Jiro and bring him back."

Taylor and Jason both agreed. They were not going to let Jiro get away with what he had done, brother or no brother. Yuugi was a second parent to them all and anyone who dared to try and kill him would have to deal with them.

Chan looked up at her father with these adorable sad eyes. "Yuugi is going to be alright isn't he daddy?"

Yami looked at Yuugi before looking down at his daughter's face. The look in her eyes pushed him over the edge causing the tears to finally fall. He gently reached out and pulled her up onto his lap. Little arms wrapped around his neck, and Yami return the hug. "I know he will be okay. Yuugi is a fighter and he wouldn't want to leave you all behind."

The little girl seemed to agree with that, before she too started to cry onto his shoulder.

It had been one emotionally roller coaster that day and it was one no one wanted a repeat of. All throughout the palace thoughts and prays were about Yuugi as night descended on the city.

* * *

**Sakura:** (hides behind Yumi) So my dream didn't go just like that in order, but bit and pieces were things I dreamed about that ended up bringing this story to life.

**Yumi**: I think you just upped the hate for Jiro…

**Sakura**: Yeah I figured, but it must be done for the plot!

**Yumi**: (sighs) Please review, but do not hurt the author, because if you do she will no longer be able to write.


	19. Chapter 19

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **Unless you read my profile and Childhood Returns, then my readers for this may not know that I have started back to college. As most can tell if they follow my stories closely I have been delayed by a week with the updates. This chapter should have come out last week sadly I had no time to type, but thankfully I found some time this week to type and post this. I'm hoping to not have a lot of delays in my stories.

I would like to say this about the chapter. There will be no revenge yet! This chapter is just to see how Yuugi is doing and some good old fluff!

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Recovery**

I will be there no matter what

* * *

_The pain was like wildfire. It covered him all over and there was no break from it. No one was there to help him as the attack continued. Each cut was another part of him ripped apart. Hate filled eyes glared down at him. No mercy would come no matter how much he begged. This was going to be the end…_

Tear filled amethyst eyes snapped open to rid him of the horror images he saw. Yuugi sucked in deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He scanned the room but had no idea where he was. It looked to be a hospital wing of some sort, but he couldn't be sure. The only thing that felt right was that he knew he was alive. Light was beaming in from the windows giving the room a beautiful glow.

A gasp pulled him to look to his side to see Isis in a doorway that seemed to lead to an office. She rushed over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Yuugi can you hear me?"

Yuugi nodded and went to speak but found he couldn't because of a dry itchy throat.

Isis moved to the bedside table and used a pitcher to pour him a glass of water. She then helped him to raise his head so he could drink. Once finished she put the cup back on the table.

With his throat now feeling much better Yuugi tried to speak again. "Where am I?"

"You are in the hospital wing of the palace. You were attacked by someone. Ethan and Taylor found you just in time and bought you here so I could heal you." She then asked him a question he really wished she wouldn't. "Do you remember anything that happened?"

The images would haunt him forever, but he didn't want to deal with it at the moment. "No…" It was a simple reply that hopefully she would buy and leave him alone.

Isis seemed to have bought it and decided to start to check him over. "You've been asleep for about a day now, but besides the nasty cuts you have I do not think you will suffer any lifelong damage from the attack."

The news would have seemed nice to Yuugi, but when he looked at his bandaged body it only made him want to cry more. If he hadn't been so weak then none of this would have happened to him. Tears of their own accord started to fall. Before long Yuugi was sobbing and covering his face with his hands.

Isis bit her lip unsure of what to do, but she knew one thing. She needed to tell her King that his lover was awake. Thinking it was better not to leave the room she went to her office, where she could keep an eye on Yuugi and dialed the King's study on her phone. Hopefully he was in his office like he had been all day. The children were able to get Yami away from the hospital wing for a while earlier that day, but he then took to locking himself in his office to think things over. It worried every one of the palace, but he had a right to be alone.

It only took a second for the phone to be answered by her King. The news she told of him would hopefully sound good to him.

* * *

It took no time at all for the news of Yuugi's awakening to spread around the palace. Yami was the first to know and he in turn told his children. The children were over joyed to hear Yuugi was awake and looking well, so it didn't take long for everyone else to learn Yuugi was awake. However Isis set a rule that Yami was the only one allow in to see Yuugi at the moment. She worried what kind of stress too many people could have on Yuugi.

Ten minutes after the phone call Yami was in the hospital wing and by Yuugi's side. Yuugi had calmed down some but once he saw Yami the sobs came back. Yami's heart broke at the site of Yuugi so upset, but he couldn't help but feel relief that his lover was alive and breathing.

Yami may sure to be gentle and carefully took Yuugi's hands away from his face. Yuugi sniffed to stop his runny nose and looked up at Yami with puffy red eyes. No matter the state Yuugi was in to Yami he would always be beautiful. It wasn't just his looks that made Yami fall for his little human.

"Hey…" Yami greeted before placing a kiss on Yuugi's forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Yuugi rubbed at his eyes. "I hurt all over."

Yami took one of Yuugi's hands in his and squeezed it. "I…" He paused to rethink what he wanted to say before sighing. "I should have been there for you. If I had been there then none of this would have happened."

Surprised by what he was hearing Yuugi looked at Yami. "It wasn't your fault."

Yami shook his head. "It might as well have been. I should have seen the signs." He ran a hand through his hair. "I know it was Jiro that attacked you and I was blind to think he could do something like this."

Yuugi turned to look the other way only confirming to Yami that it was indeed his son who had done this to Yuugi. The King reached out and turned Yuugi's face back to him.

"This is in no way your fault. Something isn't right with Jiro." Yami looked at Yuugi's face and regretted his neck question. "Do you remember anything that happened yesterday?"

It seemed like the tears were never ending as they started up again. "I…" Yuugi took a deep breath. "I do remember pieces, but I don't want to talk about it."

Yami didn't look happy about the answer, but he respected Yuugi's wish not to relive the attack just yet. "I'll let you tell me when you are ready. Does that sound good?"

Yuugi agreed with that before reaching up and touching Yami's bandaged covered face. They stared at each other for a while, before Yami leaned down and kissed Yuugi. The two of them needed this moment more than anything before they would be pulled back into reality.

* * *

A week past with no word on Jiro's whereabouts and Yuugi had still refused to talk about what had happened that day one week ago. The day after Yuugi woke up he was released into Yami's care, but refused to leave his and Yami's room. He stayed in bed for most of the day only getting up to go to the bathroom. The King and his children had to make sure food was bought to Yuugi since he would not leave the room.

Yami was worried about Yuugi and he wanted to understand what had happened, but he also didn't want Yuugi to shut down. So after a debate between Yami and his children they all agreed to let Yuugi decide when he was ready to talk. The best Yami could do was comfort him when upset and continue to do his job as King. Yami left the respsonability of finding Jiro to Ethan, Taylor, and Jason because he knew they would bring him back to Yami alive. Even if Jiro would be punished for attacking a human much less King's future mate, Yami still wanted to know Jiro's side of the story. It didn't matter that Jiro was one of Yami's adopted children either. Something wasn't right and Yami didn't like being left in the dark.

It was late in the afternoon when Yami finally made it back to his room. A lot was weighing on his mind and he was ready to lie down and relax. He just wondered what his lover was up to. Kotaro and Chan had agreed to watch Yuugi that day. Once he was outside the door he carefully opened the door and peak his head in to see an adorable site.

Chan was brushing Yuugi's hair as he was lying in bed asleep and Kotaro was curled up by Yuugi's side watching TV. The TV had become a new addition to the room after Yuugi had moved in. Yami was not one for technology having grown up in the past when it wasn't even thought of, but some changes had been made to the room to fit Yuugi's life style and Yami's.

The little girl stopped what she was doing when she heard the door and smiled up at her father. "Hey daddy…!" She greeted, but quieted down when Yuugi stirred.

Everyone kept still until they were sure Yuugi wasn't going to wake up. After it appeared he had settled, Yami approached the bed. He picked up each of the little ones and placed them on the floor.

Yami patted their heads. "Why don't you two head off and play before dinner. I can watch Yuugi from here."

The two agreed before hurrying off to go do some other things. Yami took a moment to clear off the bed of the games the three had played and turned off the TV. He tucked Yuugi under the covers and kissed his forehead before collecting some items so he could take a shower.

It wouldn't hurt to let Yuugi sleep before dinner, besides it was probably the only sleep he was going to get given nights were filled with nightmares half the time. Thankfully Yami didn't need sleep as much as a normal human or he would be one cranky King after all the nights Yuugi would wake up screaming. Those were never fun nights for the two, but Yami was willing to bare with it for Yuugi.

* * *

Dinner was quiet that night as Yuugi and Yami set in bed eating their meal. They were both sharing a tray with Yuugi having a steak with bake potato and water while Yami was having a steak with a small glass of blood on the side. Yami had already feed earlier that week, but with all the stress he was drinking more blood than normal.

Yuugi looked up at his lover as he watched the TV which was currently on some random movie they found. It was a cheesy vampire movie, but it was the only thing on TV at the moment. "Are you okay?"

Yami looked down at him and offered a smile. "I'm good just tired is all."

The answer seemed good enough for Yuugi because he let the subject drop. Yuugi knew Yami was over stressing himself because of the attack, but he couldn't bring himself to let Yami not stress. It was Yami's way of coping with what had happened.

Yami leaned over and gave his love a kiss on the cheek. "Are you enjoying the food?"

Yuugi nodded as he put another piece of steak in his mouth. As he ate he felt Yami's hand on his back which made him stiff up. Ever since he got those horrible cuts he wouldn't let anyone touch him besides maybe his hands. It wasn't that they hurt or anything he just didn't want to be touched. Yami, not trying to be prevented, often tried to help Yuugi redress his wounds when the bandages started to wear and tear, but just something about Yami seeing his body made him freeze and cover up.

Just like Yami was ashamed to show his face, Yami believe Yuugi was ashamed to show his body to anyone. The only one Yuugi would allow to help him was Isis and that was when no one else but her was in the room.

"You know…" Yami spoke up as he carefully rubbed gently circles on Yuugi's back. "They are not as bad as they seem. Isis said in a month or so some of them won't even be visibly anymore."

Yuugi reached up and patted Yami's cheek. "Yeah and this coming from the guy who covers his face with bandages or a mask…"

Yami sighed and started to remove his bandages leaving his face in clear view. "I'm just worried I'll scare people more than I want to. I wasn't the best King to my people in the past and I'm trying to make up for it."

Yuugi agreed as he looked down at his bandaged arms. "I understand your fear, but…" Tears started to well up in Yuugi's eyes but as they started to roll down his cheek Yami was there to wipe them away. He looked back up at Yami wrapping his arms around Yami's neck and crying on his shoulder.

The King rubbed his lovers back and whispered in his ear how much he loved him. It didn't take long for Yuugi to calm down, but he still couldn't look Yami in the face. The two sat in silence for a while listening to the long forgotten movie, before Yuugi finally found his voice again.

"I'm afraid of what you will think of me…" Yuugi whispered to his boyfriend.

It wasn't like Yami was trying to laugh at Yuugi, but he couldn't help but chuckle. He lifted Yuugi's face up and gave him a long passionate overdue kiss. They stayed like that for a good minute before they had to break so Yuugi could get some air back into his lungs.

Yami rubbed his nose with Yuugi's and smiled. "No matter what you look like I will always love you. I may have fallen for you because of your looks at first but after getting to know you I have so much more to love. Looks are not everything sweetheart and if I was going to marry you for looks I would have left you after you were attacked. I love you for who you are Yuugi."

Yuugi blushed at the compliment, but something crossed his mind after Yami had finished talking. "You want to marry me?"

It took a moment for Yami to realize what he had said before he was the one to start blushing. This was the first time Yuugi had ever seen Yami blush and it made Yuugi believe that Yami was being serious. Yami was never nervous or embarrassed by anything!

After taking a deep breath, Yami moved over to his night stand and opened the drawer. He pulled out a small black box that he had been saving for the perfect moment. Now rather than later seemed like the perfect time.

The King moved back over to Yuugi and placed the ring box in his hands. "I was going to propose to you the day you were attacked. That is why Ethan and Taylor were coming to pick you up and bring you to the palace for our 'date'." Yami opened the box in Yuugi's hands to reveal a beautiful silver ring with the word _Forever _written across the top in crimson diamonds. "The children had it all planned out hoping you would say yes."

Yuugi took the ring out of the box and almost couldn't believe what was happening to him. One day he did dream of getting married and settling down to have a family, but never in his life did he think he would one day marry a vampire King. A smile made its way onto Yuugi's face as he handed Yami the ring. "What are you waiting for?"

A smile lit up Yami's face when he realized what Yuugi wanted. It took him no time to get off the bed and kneel down on one knee by Yuugi's bedside. He held the ring out to Yuugi and said the words he wanted to say a week ago.

"Yuugi, will you marry me?"

The reply was quick and simple. "Yes Yami I will." After that the ring was placed on Yuugi's left ring finger and the two shared yet other passionate kiss.

* * *

It took another week for Yuugi to feel comfortable to leave the bedroom. By then Yami had already gave everyone the great news of his and Yuugi's engagement. The children were first to learn about it the day after and they were all for crashing in Yuugi's and Yami's room to hang out with Yuugi and congratulate him. Others of the palace sent their congratulations through Yami when they saw him in the hallways and Yami in turn told Yuugi.

Seto, Joey, and all Yuugi's new vampire friends were happy to hear about the news. Joey and Seto had stayed for a week after Yuugi was attacked to make sure he was okay. Once they were sure Yuugi was in good hands, Seto had to return home to tend to his company and Joey went home with him to make sure his boyfriend did not over work himself. They heard the news over the phone from Yuugi the day after it happened and Joey was impressed Yami still went through with it after what had happened two weeks ago. It still got under Joey's skin that someone attacked his little buddy, but he knew Yami would get Jiro and make him pay. There were no secrets between Yami and the portal holders, so it wasn't a surprise when Yami told everyone who had attacked Yuugi. Yami was sure Jiro wouldn't be able to leave the city, but he had to let the portal holders know in case something came up.

The citizens of the city were the last to know about the engagement, but Yami made it public before long. It was great news to everyone that no matter what Yami was committed to marrying Yuugi.

At the moment Yuugi was pulling a long sleeve black shirt over his head to hide the scars on his arms and chest while he also wore long blue jeans to hide the marks on his legs. The few on his face were okay to deal with because they weren't as bad, he just hoped no one would stare at them. Isis had been checking in on him every few days and after the wounds were closed and no longer bleeding she allowed him to no longer wear the bandages. However because of all the scars Yuugi refused to be seen without long sleeve clothes on. Yuugi knew the cuts would disappear as time went on like most normal cuts, but there were so many that it left Yuugi self-conscience. Yami wasn't even allowed to see Yuugi's body, but that wasn't only because of the cuts. Yuugi had long before told Yami when he moved in with him that Yami would not see him naked unless they were married. Yami agreed to the terms, but that never stopped him from trying to look at him while in the shower, making Yuugi lock the bathroom door.

There was a knock on the bedroom door making Yuugi turn to it and telling the person they could come in.

Yami came in and closed the door before taking off his mask. "I was coming to see how you were doing?"

Yuugi approached Yami and gave him a kiss. "I'm doing good… I'm almost ready for our date."

The King put his arms around Yuugi and pulled him close. "I'm not forcing you to leave this room if you don't want to Yuugi."

"I know that, but it's time I leave this room and get back into the real world." Yuugi moved out of Yami's arms and moved over to his nightstand. He grabbed his rose necklace and put it over his head. The next thing he made sure he had on was his engagement ring before looking for his boots.

Once those were found Yuugi slipped them on and prepared himself to finally leave the room. Yami put his mask back on and grabbed Yuugi's hand so he could lead him out of the palace.

* * *

When the two reached the outdoors Yuugi took a moment to breathe in the fresh air that summer gave him. It was a beautiful sunny day with no clouds in the sky and that was the kind of day Yuugi liked. Yami smiled behind his mask at the smile that was on Yuugi's face. He missed that smile and promised himself that he would do everything he could to make sure Yuugi was never upset again.

"Shall we get going?"

Yuugi nodded and followed Yami closely to a parking lot just beside the palace gates which were built for people who worked in the palace and visitors. There was one section of the parking lot that was built for only the royal family. The only vehicles there at the moment were Jason, Jiro, Ethan, and Taylor's cars that they never drove and were only for looks, the limo Yami owned, and Yuugi was surprised to find his truck there.

"I thought it was left at the shop."

Yami shook his head. "Jiro bought it here after the attack before he disappeared."

"Oh…" Yuugi looked at his feet and tighten his grip on Yami's hand at the mention of Jiro.

Yami titled Yuugi's head back up. "Hey, let's not dwell on what happened and enjoy this beautiful day. I wanted to get you out of the palace for a surprise."

Yuugi's eyes did light up at the word surprise. "What kind of surprise?"

"You will have to wait and see."

A pout formed its way onto Yuugi's face, but he let it go as Yami led him to the limo. The driver got out of the driver seat and opened the back door for them. Once they were in the back, the driver got back in the driver seat and drove the limo toward their first destination.

* * *

Sakura: So I wonder what this surprise is Yami has for Yuugi.

Yumi: Don't act dumb you're the author you already know.

Sakura: (grins) I sure do… Anyway next chapter you will find out Yami's surprise and I will stop torturing my readers and let them finally learn what happened between Yuugi and Jiro.

Yumi: Review!

P.S I have a small challenge for my readers who love to draw! I was wondering if anyone was willing to draw me some pictures about this story. They can be anything from simple drawings to a comic of their favorite scene. I just love this story so much and wanted to see what the artists out there could come up with. This is not a contest so there is no winner, but I will post all the pictures on my Devinart account if the artist allows me or I will keep them in my own personal folder. You can send me the pictures through my email which should be on my profile or if you have a Devinart account you can post it on there and let me know. Let the drawing begin!


	20. Chapter 20

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **Thank you to all of those who have been patient with me in the wait for this new chapter. I am happy to say I am on vacation for a few weeks from college before the new semester starts. I'm hoping to get a few chapters out before the new semester.

**Yumi:** We are pleased at how well this story has turned out. We thought it would only be a twenty chapter story, but here we are at chapter twenty and there is so much more that needs to happen.

**Sakura:** Without any more delay here is chapter twenty of Vampire City!

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING**

Why must people suffer in a time of peace?

* * *

When Yuugi was thinking surprise he thought a nice outing with Yami or a gift of some sort. However what he did not predict was the limo to stop in front of his antique shop. The driver opened the door for the two of them and they both got out. Yuugi stared up at his shop and tried to hold his tears back. He loved his shop however for a while now it held nothing but bad memories of the attack.

Yami squeezed Yuugi's hand and used his other hand to wipe a tear as it fell. "Hey now…" He gently cooed. "I promise I did not want to bring you here to bring up bad memories."

Yuugi moved Yami's hand away and wiped his own tears. "Then why bring me here in the first place?"

The King sighed by the bitterness in Yuugi's voice, but somehow he knew he had to convince Yuugi that it was okay to go inside his shop. "I wanted to bring you here for a surprise and to get rid of those bad memories."

The smaller male looked up at his partner. He wished he could see Yami's face to try and figure out what he was thinking. In his mind he knew Yami was right and that he did not need to dwell on what happen, but it was harder than he thought it would be to let go.

Another squeeze to Yuugi's hand before Yami gently pulled him toward the door. "Please come in and see for yourself. If you feel uncomfortable in any way we will leave."

Yuugi closed his eyes and let Yami lead him in. He was not sure what he would find inside the shop, but he hoped it was better than the way it had been left.

The shop bell rang as Yami pushed open the door and the cool air inside hit them both. Yami led Yuugi a few steps into the shop before closing the door. He stood behind Yuugi close enough to catch him if he decided to faint or run off.

A silence fell over the two as Yami waited for Yuugi to reopen his eyes. It would not be good on his part to push Yuugi too far and before long he knew Yuugi would be curious as to what his shop now looked like.

"It's alright to look you know." Yuugi heard Taylor say, before he heard someone getting hit over the head. "Ow! Ethan, what was that for?"

"You know why I hit you now keep your mouth shut." Ethan scolded.

There was a tug at the corner of Yuugi's lips like he wanted to smile. Those two would never change given any situation.

"I would appreciate it if you two would act your age. Yuugi will decide when he wants to look." Yami scolded both his sons before placing his hands on Yuugi's shoulders. "It is alright to look Yuugi, I'm here with you…" He whispered in Yuugi's ear.

Curiosity was getting the better of Yuugi so he finally decided to get it over with. Slowly amethyst eyes open and once he got a look at his surroundings new tears came to his eyes.

The shop had been completely redone. There was not one thing in the whole shop that could remind him of that horrible afternoon. New dark wood colored floors polished beautifully and went well with the new tan walls. The walls were also covered with very fancy and expense artwork on show for buyers. The artwork was normally kept in the back and Yuugi had a book at the counter with picture of the works so the paintings would not get damaged. All shelves were replaced with aisles of glass cases so all small antiques were kept safe, while the bigger items such as vases and statues were placed around the shop in different locations to give the shop a more older feel. The counter Yuugi normally sat behind was replaced with a beautiful oak antique desk and chair with a new computer.

The place was nothing like his old shop and Yuugi could not help but love it.

"It's beautiful." Yuugi stated after what seemed like forever.

Taylor, who was hanging out by the desk with Ethan, grinned at Yuugi. "We're glad you like it. It took us forever got get it done."

Yuugi stepped away from Yami, who followed right behind him, and headed toward the desk. Once there he ran his fingers over it, before settling down in his chair. He looked over everything and looked in all the drawers to find all his files on things he was selling and had sold. On top the desk along with the computer was a desk calendar lay out. What was odd about it was that on each of the days was either a T or an E.

Ethan cleared his throat and began to explain. "Taylor and I decided we would like to help out more around here. If there is a T on any of the days that is when you can call Taylor and get his help for anything and the same goes for me with the E days. Also if it's Taylor's days he will clean up after closing and the same for me on my days."

Yuugi looked at Taylor like he had grown a second head. "You and working..?"

Taylor rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well I think it's time I help out around here more, plus I have a feeling dad might cut me off if I don't get a job."

Yuugi lean back in the chair and crossed his arms. "Who said you were going to get paid?"

Ethan and Yami busted out laughing when Taylor made a look of disbelief.

"You are kidding right?"

"Do you think he should get paid?" Yuugi looked up at Yami.

Yami placed his hand under his chin in a thinking position. "I'll have to think about that. I guess it depends on how much work he does."

Taylor pouted and walked off to go do something else.

Yuugi took a minute to calm down from his laughing before looking at the door behind his desk. "So did you guys fix up the upstairs too?"

"Uh yea, but we are still doing some work so it's not safe to go up there yet." Ethan explained while looking at his father out of the corner of his eye.

Yuugi saw the nervous move and knew they were hiding something. "What's wrong?"

Yami helped Yuugi up and started to lead him back to the front door. "It's nothing, let's go out to eat I'm getting a little hungry."

A small growl from Yuugi's stomach proved he was getting hungry too. "I could go for something too, what did you have in mind?"

Once the two were out of the shop, Ethan turned to his lover. "That was a close one there."

Taylor sighed and started for the back room. "We better get it cleaned up before he does start to work in the shop again."

Ethan followed him upstairs to a room that held a brand new kitchen, living room, and bloody antiques.

* * *

The afternoon went well for the couple as they had a nice lunch and then went out to explore the city. The people on the street were in good moods and were all smiles for the newly engaged couple. Yuugi felt happier than he had been in a while.

The two had just walked out of a clothing store with some new clothes for Yuugi when it happened.

An explosion one street over from them took everyone by surprise and caused humans and vampires a like to run off. Parents picked up their small children to run for cover. Yami grabbed Yuugi's hand tightly as groups of people came there way, but before he could pull him close they got pulled apart again.

Yami screamed out Yuugi's name and searched for his smaller lover, but did not see him anywhere in the crowd. The idea of Yuugi getting hurt again started to freak him out, he could not lose his partner.

A growl escaped his lips as he jumped up onto a nearby lamp pole. He looked out over the panicked people before taking a deep breath. "STOP!" He yelled as loud as he could so it was surprisely heard over all the noise.

People frozen in their place and looked up at their King unsure how he was going to handle the situation. Ethan, Taylor, and Jason arrived by that time also looking up at their father to see what he would do.

"My people please calm yourselves! I want all vampires to help the humans get to safety. My sons…" He looked down at the three. "I want you three to find out the cause of this and make sure it doesn't happen again also help in any way you can to stop the blaze from…"

To everyone's shock another explosion took place across from the other one causing the street ahead of them to burn bright in the blaze. Yami's fist clenched as he watched everything unfold, but the people were calmer than they were before. Vampires helped humans get to safety and the streets became more organized so paramedics, firefighters, and police could get through to the burning street.

Yami jumped down to his sons, who still stood watching everything.

"What is going on?" Taylor questioned.

"I do not know, but I want you three to go help and find the people responsible for this." Yami stated before pushing past them.

Ethan watched his father walk off. "Where are you going?" He called out.

"I have to find Yuugi…"

* * *

Yuugi managed to break away from the large crowd, but ended up stumbling into one of the many dark alleys. He lean against the wall and calmed his racing heart. He was not sure what was going on, but he knew he needed to stay put until things cleared out so he could find Yami.

He looked down the alley to make sure no one else was around him, but his heart dropped into his stomach when he saw a familiar face grinning from the shadows.

Jiro grinned from his spot in the shadows as he looked at Yuugi. "Well I'm surprised to see you alive after our last encounter."

The horrible images of that day seem to flash before Yuugi's eyes as he looked at the face of his attacker. He screamed and covered his ears like he was in agony, before dropping to his knees. Tears fell like waterfall down his face as he wished the nightmare would end.

_Yuugi looked at Jiro as he walked toward the window of the shop and closed the curtains. The room dimmed a little but there was still light because of the light inside the shop. _

"_What do you want to talk about?"_

_Jiro turned to Yuugi and glared at him. "You know you ruined this family."_

_Yuugi looked at him like he was crazy. "Jiro, I have no idea what you are talking about."_

"_You know my father does not really love you."_

_This caused Yuugi to frown at the vampire. "I believe your father when he tells me he does love me. Jiro I don't know what you came here for, but I would like it if you leave please."_

_Jiro smirked as he approached the counter. "Oh little Yuugi I'm not going anywhere. You have ruined this family and it's time for your punishment."_

_Before Yuugi could reply his air supply was cut off as Jiro reached across the counter and grabbed him by the throat lifting him off the ground. He clawed at the hand around his throat, but Jiro was too strong for him._

"_If you have not come into this family and warm your way into my father's heart you would not be in this mess. Now why don't you kindly answer my questions?" Jiro hissed out._

_Yuugi carefully nodded and was glad when Jiro let up on his throat so he could breath. _

"_Now I'm sure my father has talked to you about a power he has."_

"_No I have no idea what you are talking about!"_

_That was when the first cut hit. First Jiro tossed Yuugi on the ground like a rag doll before he reached down and used a box cutter to make a nice cut down Yuugi's arm. Yuugi tried to scream, but it was muffled by Jiro's hand._

"_We can't have anyone hearing us can we?" Jiro asked._

_Yuugi glared up at the male before using all his strength to kick Jiro in a very valuable spot. Jiro let go for a minute long enough for Yuugi to slip out and try and get to the door. However he wasn't fast enough before he was slammed into the ground again with Jiro's knee digging in his back._

_Jiro lean down to Yuugi's ear and chuckled. "I'm going to enjoy every minute of this. Now let's continue with my question. Where is my father holding his power?"_

_The fear became too much for Yuugi as tears started to fall down his face. "I don't know!" He yelled out._

_Another scream was covered up as the box cutter made a nice cut down Yuugi's back and then another on his arm._

_The attack continued for what seemed like forever for Yuugi as there seem like moments he could get away only to get caught again. He knew Jiro was playing with him when Yuugi would get away and try to run of it only for Jiro to capture him back with the box cutter waiting to dig into his flesh again._

_However it did finally end as Jiro dumped Yuugi's body behind the counter. He felt so weak from all the blood loss that all he could do is look up at Jiro's smiling face._

"_This was fun Yuugi, but you weren't very helpful. Hopefully my father won't mourn long over you he does have a city to run you know."_

Those words rang in Yuugi's head as he screamed again when another explosion hit the city. He didn't care if he sounded like a little child wanting his mommy. The only person he wanted was his Yami.

"Yugi!"

A hand touched Yuugi's shoulder causing him to cry out and try to get away. The hand quickly wrapped itself around his wrist keeping Yuugi from leaving.

"No please stop!"

"Yugi…" The voice was gentle and kind and Yuugi knew he knew the voice.

Amethyst eyes opened and turned to see the person he most wanted to see. Yami was there and he was smiling at him.

"Yami!" Yuugi wrapped his arms around Yami and hid his face in his shoulder. "Yami I was so scared when I got lost from you and then Jiro…" He sat up and quickly looked down the alley, but no one was there.

"Jiro?" Yami questioned. "What about Jiro?"

Yuugi looked back up at his lover. "After I got lost from you, I found my way into this alley and was going to wait until it was clear. Jiro he showed up and I thought…"

Crimson eyes soften as Yami pulled his lover close to him. He could not help but feel grateful that Yuugi was alive and unhurt. He was not sure if Yuugi was telling the truth about seeing Jiro, given when he found Yuugi no one was there, but with how traumatized Yuugi had been he knew something had to have scared him.

Yami used one hand to reach down beside him and pick up his mask. He made sure it was back on his face, before he picked his partner up bridal style and walked out onto the streets. Everyone had long been evacuated toward the palace before the third explosion, so it had been safe for him to comb the streets for his Yuugi.

Firefighters were fighting the blaze, while paramedics and police men and women handled the injured and dead. Taylor, Ethan, and Jason were somewhere in the whole mess trying to help out and Yami hoped they were playing it safe. He had already lost Jiro and he did not want to lose anyone else.

Something big was taking place and Yami was going to get down to the bottom of it before any more lives were taken. The King had failed his people once before in the past, but he was not going to let it happen again.

* * *

**Sakura**: So at the last minute I changed it up a bit to put more action into the story. Believe me when I say that this chapter was redone many times to get it just right. I meant to have Yuugi explain what happened to Yami, but in the end the only people I explained Yuugi's attack to were my readers. So somewhere in the next chapter Yuugi and Yami will have a small talk about what had happened and about the attack on the city.

**Yumi:** Please review!


	21. Chapter 21

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **I wanted to get this out before Christmas, because I do not plan on doing any writing or updating on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I'm not sure what all my readers celebrate because some might not celebrate Christmas so…

**Sakura and Yumi: **Happy Holidays!

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**HUMANS**

Vampires vs. Humans

* * *

By the time the night had drifted in there was still no word about who had attacked the downtown area of Vampire City. All the humans had been safely returned to their homes, while the vampires continued to roam the streets helping their King. Most of the vampires from the vampire side of town however were not much help because they did not trust the humans. They believed the humans were the cause of the attack, while some vampires who trusted humans thought the non-trusting vampires were the cause.

There was tension in the air from the two sides of vampires and only Yami could keep the two sides from fighting. This in turn kept him away from the palace where Yuugi now safely resided and he hated it.

Taylor, Jason, and Ethan were in charge of overseeing the damage done to the downtown area after the explosions had stopped and the fires put out. The one thing they did know after looking over the damage was that it was no accident and someone had been trying to bomb the city. The only thing they did not know was why…

* * *

Yuugi looked out the window of Yami's office as the moon started to shine brighter in the setting sun. It was turning into a beautiful night after everything that had happened, but Yuugi would not be able to quit worrying until Yami was home.

After the scare from Jiro, Yami had bought him back to the palace for better protection so Yami could go back into the city. Yuugi not wanting to seem like a child had let Yami go, but somewhere deep down he wanted Yami to remain by his side. He felt safer with his fiancée around.

Chan and Kotaro stayed by his side as Yuugi locked himself in his and Yami's room for a few hours. They wanted to protect Yuugi if anything were to happen. When dinner rolled around Yuugi did leave the room to go eat, but after that he changed course from his room and locked himself in Yami's office with the two little ones.

Yuugi removed himself from the window to take a minute and light the candles in the room. The two little ones who had been in the floor playing a game stopped to watch him.

"Come play with us Yuugi?" Kotaro asked. He had asked earlier but Yuugi had just wanted to stare out the window.

Yuugi shook his head. "I'm alright you two continue your game." He sat himself in Yami's seat and started to look through the drawers. He knew Yami kept some sweets in the drawers and he could use a little sugar kick. Yami had to hide them a lot because Yami never liked the children to each a bunch sweets even if it would not hurt them.

While looking for the candy he stumbled upon a small box the size that would fit his rose necklace. Curious of why Yami never gave the box to him, Yuugi opened it to find a piece of worn out paper. It had some kind of ancient writing on it, but from the looks of it, it was Egyptian. Removing the paper, he found an indent in the cushion in the shape of the rose. So it was clear the box was meant for the necklace, but he wondered why there was a worn out piece of paper inside.

Just as he was about to read the paper and find out…

"Daddy is home!" Chan cried out in excitment and race to the door.

Yuugi quickly put the paper and box up before getting out from behind Yami's desk. He was sure Yami wouldn't mind him being behind it, but just to be careful and not get on Yami's bad side he moved to the front of it.

A few minutes later Chan appeared in the doorway with her father. Kotaro got up and ran over to hug his father, who happily hugged him back. The three look so cute together that Yuugi could not help but smile.

"Did you catch the criminals, daddy?" Kotaro asked.

Yami shook his head. "Your brothers are still looking. Why don't the two of you run off so Yuugi and I can talk?"

The two agreed and left while closing the door behind them. Yami locked it so no one would disturb them and took off his mask.

Yuugi walked over to Yami and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm glad you're back safely."

Yami returned the embrace. "I did not want to worry you and the little ones for too much longer. It's a real mess out there and it is going to take a while to figured things out."

"How are Ethan, Jason, and Taylor?" Yuugi did not want those three to over work themselves.

Yami chuckled. "They are fine Yuugi. I told them not to stay out too late, but they want to do a little more searching to make sure the city remains safe throughout the night."

"Oh…" Yuugi moved away from Yami and walked back over to the window. "So why do you think the attack happened?"

Yami followed behind him, dropping his mask on the desk before rewrapping his arms around Yuugi. "I wish I knew. The only thing I know is that this was an attack, but why I do not know that yet." He turned Yuugi around to face him. "I hate to ask this but did Jiro say anything to you?"

Yuugi looked down afraid to look up at Yami. "No, but I think he was just taunting me about how he tried to kill me."

The grip Yami had on Yuugi's waist tightened at those words. "Did he say why he wanted you dead?" He questioned.

The memories once again wanted to resurface, but Yuugi wanted to keep them away. "I don't want to remember."

"I know it is hard Yuugi, but I need to think of my people. I need to know what happened between you and Jiro to hopefully make sense of this mess." Yami pleaded with his lover. He did not want to hurt Yuugi he loved him too much to want to do that, but everything seemed to link back to Jiro. Yuugi was Jiro's first target, so he knew Yuugi had to have known something.

Even after all the tears Yuugi had cried it seemed he still had more as they started to roll down his face. "I honestly do not know what I did to make him hate me!" Yuugi cried as he hid his face in Yami's chest. "I never did anything to him but try and be nice to him!"

Yami gently picked Yuugi up and carried him over to the couch in the room. He sat down with Yuugi on his lap letting his smaller lover cry as much as he wanted until he felt better. The King was at a loss of words he could say to try and comfort Yuugi. The best he could do for the moment was hold Yuugi until the tears stopped so they could talk.

* * *

Half an hour later and things grew quiet in Yami's office. The two still sat in their same positions, but the crying had stopped but minutes ago. Yuugi rubbed his eyes which were red and puffy. The younger of the two looked at Yami's shirt and blushed when he realized he had gotten it all wet.

"Oh Yami I'm sorry."

Yami could not help but chuckle at how quickly Yuugi's mood had changed from upset to embarrass. "It's alright dear. It will dry after a while, but I hope you are feeling better."

Yuugi nodded his head. "I think I needed that."

"Can we talk now?" Yami softly asked so Yuugi would not think he was being pushy.

Yuugi made himself comfortable and laid his head on Yami's shoulder. "I guess you have the right to know what happened that day…"

"It's your choice whether you want to tell me or not. However it could help explain the attack we witnessed today." Yami told him while keeping his arms wrapped firmly around Yuugi.

They sat in silence for what seemed like a few minutes, before Yuugi started to explain to Yami everything that happened that day. He was not going to leave one bit of it out if he was going to tell Yami the truth.

"It started when he came to visit me in the shop…"

* * *

By the end of Yuugi's small tale, Yami was furious. He took deep breaths to keep himself calm, since he did not want to lash out as his lover. Yuugi lean up to kiss the side of Yami's mouth.

"I'm sorry I did not tell you. I was worried about what you would think." Yuugi looked away from Yami. "I just felt so weak and I did not want to seem like that to you."

Yami looked down at Yuugi with disbelief. "Yuugi, I will never see you as weak. You tried to protect yourself as best you could from a vampire and that is all any human can do unless they know the vampire's weakness. If you had known Jiro's weakness then maybe you would not have gotten hurt as badly."

"What is Jiro's weakness?" Yuugi asked out of curiosity. He did not think he would be able to bring himself to hurt another being even if it was a vampire, but if he had to live or die, he would rather live. It would be nice to be able to protect himself from Jiro if the vampire came back looking for him.

Yami sighed and Yuugi knew he would not like what Yami had to say. "We never found out his weakness…"

There was the bad news…

"All my children went under many tests to see what they were weak against, but I never made them do it. They only did it if they wanted to. Jiro did not want to, so I never forced him." Yami explained with guilt in his eyes. He wished now he had made all his children go under the tests.

"I guess I'll have to carry around a backpack full of weapons won't I?" Yuugi joked to try and lighten the mood.

Yami smiled and kissed him once on the lips. "I'm never leaving you out of my site until Jiro is bought in alive or dead. If I'm not around one of the children will be with you."

Yuugi almost cried at those words. Everyone was doing so much to protect him and ensure he was safe. He was so happy to have such a loving family. In all his years he would have never dream he would be in the arms of the most handsome vampire around and about to get married to him one day.

"Thank you." Yuugi whispered to Yami before giving him another kiss.

* * *

It had gotten late by the time the two had finally made it back to their room. Yami was the first to fall asleep after all the commotion that day. Yuugi however just lay beside Yami and watched him sleep. Sleep of course was evading Yuugi like it had been since the attack. He normally could only sleep during the day when he knew he had others watching over him.

Reaching down Yuugi looked over his necklace that he still had on. As he looked at it he remembered the piece of paper he found in the necklace box. He had been meaning to ask Yami about it, but it slipped his mind along with a few other choice questions. The small human wanted to know about the paper, these powers that Jiro was looking for, and why was all this happening to him…

Yuugi knew he was just a simple human who had entered the city for a new start like most others. As far as he knew none of his family had lived in the city before so there was no connection there. The only thing he could think of was that Jiro was bitter that Yami had finally in love. The children had had Yami all to themselves for hundreds of years while Yuugi was new to the family. He heard of step children disliking their step parents but never to the point of wanting to kill them.

"Yuugi go to sleep…" Yami yawned out as he opened his eyes. While he had been trying to sleep he could feel Yuugi moving and hear his breathing. Normally Yuugi's breathing even out when he fell asleep, but it seemed more rough and nervous sounding. It was sure able to keep a vampire awake.

Yuugi looked up to see Yami waking up. "You know I won't be able to sleep."

Yami rolled over so he lay on his side and looked at Yuugi. "Alright… Tell me what is on your mind so you can sleep…"

Yuugi looked down at his necklace again. "Well while you were gone, I went looking through your office desk for the candy I know you hide there, when I found a box that my necklace went in." He peaked up to make sure Yami was not mad at him, but he did not look it. "I thought it would be okay for me to have it to keep the necklace in, but I found this piece of paper inside with weird writing on it."

"You could not read it?"

"I think I could, but Chan said you were home so I put it away and forgot about it until now." Yuugi told him.

Yami paused for a moment to think of how he was going to say what he needed to say next. "Let me guess you also want to know about the powers Jiro was talking about?"

Yuugi's eyes widen at that. "How did you know?"

"You did not ask about them earlier so I figured you would later." Yami replied before gently taking the necklace from around Yuugi's neck. He held it between the two of them. "The piece of paper, this necklace, and the powers go all hand in hand. I have no idea how Jiro knows about the powers, but it could explain the attacks and why he went after you."

This came as a shock to Yuugi. It was possible that it was not Yuugi at all that Jiro was after, but the necklace. "Why?" Yuugi questioned.

Yami looked at Yuugi unsure if he should tell, but after all that Yuugi went through he knew he had the right. "I believe Jiro is after my Shadow Magic."

That is where Yami lost Yuugi. "Shadow what?"

"Shadow Magic…" Yami said again, before going on to explain. "It's the power that changed me back in Ancient Egypt to the monster I was. If you remember everything I told you, then you will remember that I was greedy and wanted power. These powers threaten to kill my land and its people, but I found a way to capture it through spells. There was a small amount of magic already in Egypt, but it was not as powerful. Surprising myself and all around me I was able to contain these powers into my body which in turn changed me into a vampire."

The necklace let off a light glow at Yami's touch and the shadow in the room seem to move on their own. Yuugi moved closer to Yami not sure how all of this was happening.

Yami closed his eyes for a moment and when he reopened them the shadows were still again. He looked down at Yuugi to make sure he had not scared him too much, but Yuugi only looked shocked. "When I almost died and came back to my senses, I locked away those powers into this necklace. I was powerful without it, so I just locked them away so no one else could get to them. No one knew what I locked the powers away in and you are the only person who knows now that I am telling you."

Yuugi looked at the necklace and shakily took it back into his hands. He looked around to make sure nothing was going to get him, but all was quiet and still. "I never knew you had trusted me with so much power."

Yami smiled and wrapped his arms around Yuugi. "I trusted you with the necklace because I love you." He gave Yuugi a gentle kiss on the forehead. "As long as you did not know the powers this necklace held I thought you would be safe. I had no idea anyone would be after them, but after Jiro attacked you I guess I figured wrong. He however did not seem to know that I locked the magic into this necklace and thought you may know the location of the item that holds the powers."

Yuugi shook his head. "I don't get why he would think that. I'm just a small human, why would he think you would trust me with the location of such strong magic?"

"He knows I love you so much. I've changed thanks to you and he can see that."

Everything slowly started to process through Yuugi's mind. If Yami had told Yuugi, Yuugi knew he would have never told Jiro the truth, but he wondered if he was back in that situation of life or death would he tell this time… "I think you should take this back… If Jiro comes after me again…"

Yami shook his head, but took the necklace so he could place it behind Yuugi on his nightstand. "No, you will continue to own it. Now that you know about it I will be able to use my powers in front of you to protect you better. If you ever feel threaten I can teach you to make the shadows send me a message that you are in danger."

"Why did you not do it before?"

"I was afraid I would scare you off with this magic. It's a scary thing to hold and I do not want to lose you." Yami said with honesty.

Yuugi's eyes soften at those words and he snuggled up closer to Yami. "Thank you for telling me that truth. I feel better knowing I was not the cause of Jiro attacking me."

Yami pulled Yuugi as close as he could and rested his head on top of Yuugi's. "Things will get better I promise Yuugi, so please try and get some sleep."

Amethyst eyes slowly closed as he did as Yami told him, trying to get some sleep from the long day. It only took the small adult five minutes before he was out like a light, safe and sound in his lover's arms.

* * *

Two days passed with no word on who had attacked the downtown area. The city seemed to have calmed down from the fright however there was still a slight tension in the air. The vampires and humans slowly but surely started to drift from each other. The only part of the city that had not changed was the vampire/human side. The humans who trusted vampires did not lose their trust, but they were more cautious.

Sadly after the attack a good amount of humans wanted to leave the city until they knew it was safe to return. The only problem was Yami could not allow that until the person who planted the explosives downtown was caught. Vampires knew they could not leave and did not even try, but there were a few groups of humans who were not happy about being trapped in the city.

Thankfully Yami was able to put extra protection around the human side of the city to make the humans feel safer until everything had been dealt with. It still did not stop the stress from taking its toll on the King and everyday Yuugi worried about his lover.

It was currently the third night after the attack and Yuugi and Yami were getting some well-deserved sleep that night. All was quiet, until there was a loud and demanding knocking on their bedroom door. Yuugi bolted up into a sitting position because the knocking had given him a fright. Yami was wide awake also and already out of bed heading to the door to find out who dared to disturb their sleep, but not before putting his mask on.

They were both surprised to find the sweet and quiet Ryou standing outside the door. He held out a piece of paper. "This report just came in about an attack on the human side of the city. It appears three rouge vampires have gone on a killing spree. Vampire and human police were already headed there when this report came into the palace."

In the city there were many stations around the city for both vampires and humans who were police officers. Human police took care of the human side, while vampire police took care of the vampires. Both kinds worked toward when it came to the human and vampire side of the city. The only time any vampire officers could step foot in the human side of town is when a vampire or vampires in up there to cause trouble. Bakura and Marik along with being friends of Yami's and part of the council also were in charge of the main station which was located in the palace. If anything was going on in the city all stations had to first report to the palace to ensure the best for everyone in the city.

Yami took the piece of paper from Ryou and scanned over it. He growled at whatever he had read and threw it down. He went over to his and Yuugi's shared closet and grabbed the first thing he could find to change into.

"Ryou, I want Taylor, Ethan, and Jason to come with me. Then I want you to find all the members of the council and tell them to prepare for an emergency meeting when I get back. There have been too many attacks on this city for my liking and the people are going to go into a panic." Yami barked orders to Ryou and after he was done the small vampire was gone to do what he was told to.

Yuugi hurried out of bed to get changed also when he was stopped by Yami. "What do you think you are doing?"

The human looked up at his lover. "I'm going with you."

Yami shook his head and made Yuugi sit back down. "No, I have no idea what is going on. You are safer here."

"But I have friends in that side of town!" Yuugi argued back thinking of Tea and Tristan and their little boy. "I have to make sure they are okay, plus I'm your human mate. If the humans see me maybe they will listen better. I've seen how leery people are over there of vampires."

Yami looked at Yuugi for the longest time before sighing. "Fine, but you are wearing this and you have to stay with me." He took the necklace off of the bedside table and put it around Yuugi's neck.

Yuugi agreed and went about getting ready.

It did not take long before Taylor was at their door and telling them Ethan and Jason was on their way. Yami told his son to go wake Chan and Kotaro up too and they were to all met in the main foyer. Taylor agreed and went to go do that. Once he was gone, Yami watched Yuugi finish getting ready, before picking him up bridal style and taking off out of the room.

When they made it to the foyer in a short minute they found Taylor already there, along with Ethan and Jason. It took another minute for Chan and Kotaro to arrive along with Bakura, Marik, and Seth. Yuugi was not sure why Chan and Kotaro had to come until Yami explained to him that it was double protection for him. Chan and Kotaro were small and my look weak, but they were over a hundred years old with plenty of fighting experience from their siblings and father. They were not easy to mess with and would protect what they cared for most.

Once everyone who was going was ready to go they all set out at a fast run, since running was faster than vehicles. The rest of the council along with Bakura's, Marik's and Seth's lovers would stay behind to man the palace and prepare for the meeting.

As they ran toward the desire location, Yami's arms tighten around Yuugi. If anything was clear to him it was that humans were the targets of these attacks and it was sad to say that it looked like it was his own kind that was the cause. However somewhere in Yami's mind the only human he was really focused on protecting was the one in his arms, but he would protect those who cause no threat or harm to his lover. His people depended on him to keep this city safe and he would so that vampires and humans could continue to coexist together. That is if this sudden attack on the humans had not changed all humans' minds about vampires…

* * *

Sakura: Haha! I was able to write eight and a half pages! Believe me when I started writing this chapter I figured only five pages. This chapter ended up longer than I thought it would be.

Yumi: You are so cruel to your readers! Why leave it there?

Sakura: Oh don't go all crazy on me. I'm on break so after Christmas I'll write the next chapter.

Yumi: (sigh) Please review to make this crazy authoress write faster.


	22. Chapter 22

**Small Note**

**Sakura:** Last update for this year! I'll see everyone in 2012!

**Yumi: **Happy New Year!

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**THIS MEANS WAR**

Who will come out on top?

* * *

Police cars lined the small cove with their lights shining blue and white through the night. Human officers had marked off the small cove so no one but the police, paramedics or royals could enter. Humans stood behind the barrier watching as bodies were laid on the street with sheets over them while some were being loaded into the back of a van from the hospital. The chaos of the small cove that had just taken place seemed to have dwelled down but the humans were still slightly jumpy and curious to how vampires entered their neighborhood.

It took all but five minutes for Yami to arrive with his group and they were all let it so Yami could look over what had happened. Yuugi stayed within reach of Yami as he talked with some vampire officers. The young human looked around the area to see three houses with broken windows and front doors lying in their front yards. He hated to know what the inside of the houses looked like and he felt sorry for the families that suffered and died because of the attack.

As he looked around the area, Yuugi realized something that scared him. Before him in the middle of the cove was his old house right next to Tea and Tristan's home. They were the only untouched houses in the cove, but by the marks he could see on Tea and Tristan's front door they were next on the list of victims.

"This is where I lived…" Yuugi pointed out to himself, but Yami had caught what he said.

Yami looked down at Yuugi causing the officer Yami was talking to, to fall silent. "Are you sure?"

Yuugi nodded and looked up at Yami. "I can recognize all the houses around here. I knew most of the neighbors." Tears started to come to his eyes as he realized that most of his neighbors were dead. "I can't believe this is happening…"

Yami gave Yuugi's hand a comfortable squeeze and turned his attention back to the officer he was talking to. "You were saying?"

The vampire officer nodded and looked over his notes in his note pad. "From what we could gather, there was a loud noise that woke most of the neighbors up. We receive calls down at the station that there was an attack on a few houses by a couple of vampires. By the time we got here about three families had been killed and they were working on another family when we stopped them. There were three vampires in all and by their bloody clothes we knew they were the ones causing all the damage. All vampire officers scanned the area for any more but we found none. The three we caught were easy to take down and are in a pile over there." The officer pointed to three sheet covered piles.

Yuugi did not even what to picture what the three looked like after being taken down by all the cops in the area. He was currently looking around the area to see if he could find Tea, Tristan, and their son.

The King saw the worried look in his mate's eyes and knew Yuugi shouldn't have to see any of this. He sighed and continued his job. "How many were killed and have we identified the families that were killed?"

The officer nodded and turned the page on his notepad. "There were five families that lived in the cove. Two of the families that were killed were older couples and the third one was a young couple with three kids. All the kids were not home at the time, but with their grandparents and they have already been told about what happened. The fourth family the vampires were about to attack belonged to the Taylor family and they are being checked over by paramedics because of shock." He looked down at Yuugi. "The last home belonged to Yuugi Mutou. That must be you?"

Yuugi nodded. "I haven't lived here for a while now." He turned his attention to Yami. "Please can I go check on Tea and Tristan?"

Chan and Kotaro, who had stayed near Yami also along with Yuugi, both grabbed one of Yuugi's hands. Chan smiled up at her father. "We will keep him safe…"

Yami nodded and watched as the little ones dragged Yuugi over to where a few ambulances were set up. His hands balled into fist at his side and he forced himself to concentrate on what was going on now. With so many officers, his children, some of his friends, and himself around he had to keep telling himself Yuugi would be safe. He took a calming breath and looked back at the officer. "I'll need to see the bodies of the vampires."

The officer turned and started to lead the way. Bakura and Marik were already looking over the bodies, but keeping the sheet still somewhat over the bodies so noisy humans could not look. Plus there were children around and they did not want to scar them by letting them see dead bodies.

"What do you think?" Yami asked when they were close enough.

Bakura pointed at one of the bodies that were just a pile of ash, except the arms and legs. "We won't get anything out of this one." He pointed to the other two that were still somewhat intact except the skin was melting off and one was missing one side of his face. "Those two from what we could tell are newly turned and probably were turned just a few hours before the sun set by the level of blood they went after to drink." He lifted the eye lid on one of them and Yami could see golden eyes.

"Because of the state of the bodies we could not find bite marks." Marik explained, "But with golden eyes it was likely all three were bitten by a vampire with a venom bite."

Yami scowled himself for letting all those families suffer and three children were without parents now. He just wished he knew how the three rouges got into the neighborhood. "Do you have any idea how they got in?"

Marik stood up and shrugged. "The only thing we can think of is that somehow a vampire changed them in his neighborhood while the sun was still up and then released them after the sun was completely down and being summer time it takes longer for the sun to go down. We all know that all newborns are weak against the sun and will continue to be weak unless they can learn to withstand it as they get older."

Bakura stood up as well and dusted off his pants after kneeling on the ground. "Their creator is probably long gone by now, but Marik and I will continue to look around and see if we can pin point where they were created."

Yami agree with that. "I'll leave that to the two of you." He turned and looked over the area. Humans were still talking among themselves and looking at the huge crime scene. Officers were walking around either taking more statements to get all the facts straight or in the houses getting evidences. The place reeked of blood and the only thing Yami wanted to do was get out of there. Sadly being the King meant he had a job to do and he refused to let anymore humans die. The city had been at peace for thousands of years and no one was going to ruin it for his people.

* * *

Yuugi smiled at Andrew as he held the small boy who clung to him. The little one had grown so much but was scared to death after what happened. He had been surprised when he had walked over to Tea who was sitting in the back of an open ambulance and Andrew reached out for Yuugi. It seemed he had been happy to see a familiar face even if Yuugi had not been around for a while.

Tea couldn't help but smile at the scene too. "He really is such a shy boy. I'm glad he is happy to see you."

Tristan, who stood next to his wife, put a hand on her shoulder. "I hope the King has been treating you well Yuugi…"

Yuugi blushed and nodded while showing them his ring. "He has been treating me really well."

"I heard about it. I can't believe you two are getting married." Tea commented as she looked over the ring.

"Well, it will be a while, but yes we are going to get married one day." Yuugi reassured her before his voice took on a serious tone. "So really are you guys feeling okay?"

Tea nodded and looked up at her husband. "It was quite the scare, but thankfully the police got here in time to save us."

Tristan squeezed his wife's shoulder. "I wouldn't have let them touch my wife and child even if they had made it in."

Yuugi's eyes gleamed in happiness at the beautiful couple. They cared so much about each other and were willing to protect one another. In a way Yuugi wished he could be like that with Yami, but with him only being human he was not sure what he could do to protect a vampire. "I feel sorry for those families who had to suffer, but I'm glad you guys are okay. If you want I could talk to Yami and see if you three could stay at the palace."

"Thanks Yuugi, but my parents have agreed to let us stay with them." Tea informed him. "They live a few streets away and when they heard the news they wouldn't take no for an answer until we agreed to stay there for a few days."

"Of course it's only naturally for parents to worry about their children." Yuugi looked down at Andrew who started to reach for his mommy. He handed the little boy back to his mother, before moving to take Chan's hand. "I think it's best if we head back to the King. I know how worried he can get when I'm away for too long." He gave the three one last smile. "I'll be sure to keep in touch."

Tea and Tristan smiled back at him, before turning their attention to Andrew.

Chan, Kotaro, and Yuugi had started to head back to Yami when it happened.

Everyone jumped and looked up when they heard a garage door start opening. The garage to Yuugi's old house had started to open of its own accord, before a figure emerged from it. He was dressed in all black, except for a red vest and had shoulder length brown hair that was spiky on top his head and goggles on top his head. His eyes stood out the most because of their bright golden color.

Before even one word could be spoken from the individual Yami had already stepped forward to confront the vampire who dared enter the humans living area. He had stopped at the end of the driveway keeping a distance between the two.

"Who dares to break the law set out and step into human territory?" Yami questioned the vampire.

The vampire smirked and gave a mock bow. "My King the name is Valon and I'll just say I am part of a very strong team of vampires who plan to change this city and your rule." He lifted a hand in the air. "I hope you enjoy little show we have planned for you." He snapped his fingers and slowly but surely more vampires started to come out of the garage. The only difference in these vampires were they had this crazy blood thirsty look in their eyes like most newborns and they all had golden eyes like the rouges who had attacked the neighborhood earlier that night.

Valon smirked, before him and two other vampires jumped on top the garage and then took off running away from the scene. Yami growled as he watched them go before turning his attention to the twenty to thirty blood thirsty vampires before him.

Officers had already drawn their guns and started to fire when the first vampire ran toward the King and it wasn't long before the others followed. Humans scream and ran for cover as the cove was soon surrounded in gun fire and blood.

"Protect the humans!" Yami ordered loud enough for everyone to hear or at least the vampires to hear as he snapped one of the newborns necks and threw it to the side. He looked around the area looking for his lover, but over the newly formed chaos it was proving to be difficult.

"Yuugi…!"

* * *

Yuugi groaned as he rubbed his head and sat up. The last thing he remembered was the rouge vampires attacking and he got separate from Chan and Kotaro. He had been trying to avoid the vampires when someone hit him on the head with something. The hit had not been enough to knock him out, but he did feel dizzy and could not fight the person who picked him up and carried him off. After a few minutes of being in the person's hold he was dumped on the ground and left to get his eyes and mind to focus on his surroundings.

Finally able to see clearly Yuugi looked around to find himself in an empty room that looked eerie familiar. Noises outside a covered window caught Yuugi's attention and he pushed himself up and onto his feet to go look. Moving the curtain to the side, Yuugi's eyes widen when he realized he was looking down at the small battle in the cove between his lover and the police against the few rouge vampires that were left and still willing to fight. It looked like all the humans had all disappeared except for the human cops who wanted to fight.

"It was a losing battle to begin with but it did get the King's attention."

Yuugi turned and gasped when a female who looked like a twin to Tea stood before him by the door. The only difference was she was dressed in a black dress and her brown hair went to her waist. She smirked at him and flashed her fangs.

Yuugi's heart beat started to pick up as he looked around for an escape route.

The woman laughed at the scared look on his face. "No point in looking for an escape route. I'm not here to kill you but for you to deliver a message."

Before Yuugi knew it she was in front of him and held his chin tightly in her small pale, but strong hand making him look up at her. "I planned on giving him the message myself, but then I saw he had bought you along." She giggled as she looked passed him and out the window. "It's funny seeing him run around like a chicken with his head cut off looking for his lover."

Yuugi growled as the woman thought Yami worrying about him was funny. "He'll find me and you'll be sorry."

The woman looked back at him and gave him an evil smile before letting him go and stepping back. "I'm sure he will find you given you are in your old house." She pulled a folded up piece of paper out of nowhere and tossed it at Yuugi's feet. "This was just a little game before our real plans. If the King really wishes to save his precious city give him that note."

She turned to leave but not before looking over her shoulder at him one more time. "By the way tell my baby sister Tea that Anzu says hi." She giggled once more and in the blink of an eye she was gone.

Completely forgetting about the paper at his feet, Yuugi ran for the door, only to freak when it was locked and it seemed the handle had been changed by the Anzu woman since the lock was not on the inside but on the outside. He started to bang on the door and kick it hoping it would give way. When that did not work he ran over to the window and started to bang on it, but with everything happening down in the streets no one would hear him.

Yuugi quit before he caught the attention of one of the rouges and sat down on the floor below the window. He growled at himself for letting himself get caught and picked up the piece of paper Anzu had dropped. On the front written in neat cursive was _His Majesty._

Unfolding the paper, Yuugi started to read the note written for Yami to get some idea as to why all of this was happening. By the time Yuugi had reached the bottom he could not believe what his eyes were reading. One hand reached out for his necklace and Yuugi closed his eyes as he pictured himself inside his house and sent the mental image to Yami. He hopped the shadows would response to him and send the image to Yami. Yami had not been able to fully teach Yuugi how to get the shadows to work for him, but he figured if he at least thought it maybe they would do it.

* * *

It had taken nothing but ten minutes to take down thirty rouge vampires with only three human officers getting killed in the process. Yami surveyed the area as the remaining officers worked to make sure all the humans were safe and to collect and dispose of the dead rouges. The humans who had been killed earlier and during the small battle would be taken to the hospital morgue until the families came to claim the bodies for burial later on.

Yami could see all of his children; however he did not see his lover anywhere. He had hoped Yuugi had left with the other humans to safety, but that did not seem the case as Chan ran over to him in tears.

"Daddy, some mean lady took Yuugi!" She yelled through her tears. "I tried to stop her but those other mean vampires would not let me."

The King kneeled down in front of his daughter and placed a hand on her head. "Hey Chan, it's not your fault. I'm sure Yuugi is fine." He said to her trying to keep the worry out of his voice. He knew she was not to blame for Yuugi's disappearance and it would do no good for him to get mad at her.

His other children came over to him when they heard the news. Yami stood back up and looked around the area. The small battle had not taken long so the lady Chan had told him about could not have gotten far.

"What should we do father?" Ethan asked.

Yami opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he felt the shadows stir around him. He closed his eyes to get a clear picture of the image the shadows were sending him and it was then he realized Yuugi was trying to tell him where he was, which meant to his happiness was that Yuugi was alive. When the picture cleared and he realized where his lover was he reopened his eyes to see his children looking at him funny.

"I know where Yuugi is." Yami informed them, before taking off in a run toward the abandoned house Yuugi used to live in.

* * *

Footsteps on the floor below made Yuugi's head snap up. He slowly stood from his sitting position and pocketed the note Anzu had given him to give to Yami. The noise downstairs got louder as the person moved toward the stairs, before he heard the king yelling out for him.

"I'm in here!" Yuugi yelled as he ran for the door and started to pound on it. "Yami I'm up here!" Relief flooded over him as he heard the footsteps run up the stairs and toward the door.

"Yuugi move away from the door."

Yuugi moved to the side and squeaked when the door was kicked in. Yami stepped into the room and when he spotted Yuugi he immediately took him into his arms. "Thank Ra you are safe…" He stepped back just enough to look Yuugi over and was glad to see not even one mark on him.

"What happened, Yuugi?" Yami questioned when he was satisfied his mate was not hurt.

The younger shrugged and replied, "I have no idea. Some hit me on the head enough to make me dizzy and vision unfocused and when everything did become clear I was in this room with his lady vampire." He dug into his pocket and pulled out the paper before giving it to Yami. "I think her name was Anzu and she told me she did not want to hurt me just to send a warning to you. I was also told to give his to you."

Yami took the paper and looked over it. When he was done reading it, he growled and balled it into his fist. He pocketed the paper, before picking Yuugi up bridal style and heading out of the house.

Yuugi looked up at Yami worried. "What does this mean Yami?"

Yami sighed and shook his head. "It means that this city is going to become a war zone."

* * *

By the time the group had returned to the palace, Kisara, Malik, and Ryou had been waiting in the foyer for them. Bakura, Marik, and Seth hugged their respected mates and then turned to their King waiting for his orders. Yami walked pass the group and headed straight for the throne room where all meetings were to be held. He knew without even asking that Ryou would have gotten all the members together and they would be waiting there for him.

Yuugi continued to cling to Yami as he moved at a fast pace toward the throne room without running into some of the vampire servants who stayed up during the night. His head hurt a little from the hit he took earlier and Yuugi just wanted to sleep, but he also did not want Yami handle this mess alone. He wanted to help in any way he could so all the weight would not be on Yami's shoulders.

When they entered the room all the members of the council were already in their positions at the table while Yami headed straight for the huge throne. The others traveled not far behind Yami and took their places at the table quickly so the meeting could begin.

Yami placed Yuugi on his throne before turning toward his council. "I'm sorry for the late hour, but this cannot wait until morning."

"What is happening, my King?" Isis asked having not heard everything that had happened.

Yami sighed. "Some newborn vamps attacked the human's territory. However once we got their even more arrived, but they were being controlled by much older vampires. One of them I did not see who kidnapped Yuugi and left him with a message." He took the piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Taylor who sat to the right of him.

Taylor unballed the paper and stood up to read it out loud. "His Majesty King Yami, I hope you enjoyed the little show this evening because this is not the end. I left this note with your little human of a mate to show that I could get pass your defenses and get to those who you hold most dear. I do not see what you see in these filthy humans, but things are about to change. On an unknown day that you will not see coming we will launch an attack on his city to wipe out all humans to show you that vampires should remain superior and do not need humans to survive. Be very aware of your surroundings because we could be anywhere." He finished reading and then looked down at who had signed it. "It's signed by an Anzu."

"That is the one who kidnapped me." Yuugi piped up causing all eyes to turn to him. He blushed at the attention but continued. "She said she was not going to hurt me, that she just wanted me to deliver the message to Yami. She also told me to tell Tea she said hi."

Yami turned to Mahado who was the only one in the room with a laptop. He was the one who was in charge of writing down what each of the meetings they held was about. They used to write what each meeting was about on paper or parchment, but as times changed Yami suggested they keep up with the modern way things were done. Plus it was easier to file and storage information on a laptop or flash drive.

"Mahado, find everything you can about this Anzu and her connection to Tea Taylor. If we can find the link maybe we can find out more information about Anzu through the information we have and Tea."

Mahado agreed and bowed toward his King. "Yes sir, I'll find all that I can on her and deliver my findings personally to you."

Satisfied Yami continued to discuss with his council the best course of action to take to prevent a war from happening and to protect the humans. Over the course of the hour ideas were thrown around, but it seemed the only idea that would work would be to take the humans out of the city and to close the portals so no humans could return to the city until the issue was resolved with the vampires who wanted the humans gone.

In Yami's eyes it seemed like the coward way out, but he could not risk anymore human lives. He was sure some humans would want to stay, but they would deal with that when they came to it. The best thing he could do now was get some sleep and contact the portal holders in the morning to tell them of the plans they had come up with. After that it would be up to the portal holders to find places such as hotels for the humans to stay in until the city was safe again.

When the meeting came to a close the council stood and bowed to their King before leaving the room. The children left too, because they were tired and just wanted to get some sleep. Yami looked down at his watch to see it was almost four in the morning and the sun would be coming up soon. Turning around Yami expected Yuugi to be sitting there waiting for him, but to his surprise Yuugi's head was leaning on his shoulder and he was out like a light.

A smile came to Yami's face as he gently reached out to stroke Yuugi's cheek. Yuugi sighed under the touch and leaned toward Yami. The King chuckled at his fiancée and carefully picked him up, but was careful not to wake him. He was not surprised Yuugi had fallen asleep, plus he deserved sleep after all he had been through.

As they made it back to the room, Yami gently stripped Yuugi of his clothes, leaving his boxers on, before redressing him in his pajamas. Yuugi was out like a light the whole time, but he did stir a little after Yami had changed and joined him in bed, but that was only to move closer to Yami. Yami wrapped a firm arm around Yuugi's waist and closed his eyes hoping sleep would come to him also.

It had been a long night and it would be an even longer day once the sun had risen. There was no telling what the next day would bring…

* * *

Sakura: I'm on a roll! Every time I write a chapter I think I'll only type five to six pages and then I end up with nine. I'm so proud of myself (wipes away a tear)

Yumi: (ignoring her crazy hikari) Please review!


	23. Chapter 23

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **I'm horrible at fight scenes so let's see how this chapter comes out… Beware there will be blood but probably nothing gory, because like I said before I can't describe fight scenes rather well.

Shout out to **s2Teennovelist** for helping me! I was not sure about some things in this chapter, but she was there to help me out so hopefully this chapter turns out good.

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**WAR**

ONE OF US IS GOING DOWN

* * *

When waking up to a new day with the sun shining most would be excited to start the day however it was anything but happy for the Vampire City. With the new morning it bought nothing but pain to humans who were haunted by the horror of the night before. Yuugi was one of those humans as he sat in his and Yami's bed watching his future husband getting dressed for the day.

The petite adult had already had his shower and was dressed for the day, so this left him waiting on Yami. The King had a late start getting ready as he first had to track down a servant to bring them breakfast to their room. Plus during their meal Mahado had stopped by to inform Yami he had found some information on Anzu. Yami had talked with Mahado for a good five minutes before Mahado left promising to leave the file he made in Yami's office, so Yami could return to his meal.

However Yami only drank a small glass of blood before disappearing into the shower.

Yuugi could not help but worry over Yami. He noticed that his lover was not eating like he should and the bags under Yami's eyes clearly showed the King was not getting the sleep he should be. As much as he was worried about his people, Yuugi felt he should worry about Yami and take care of him. He did not want his love to collapse from exhaustion. It would not do the city any good if their King was not up to his best in this critical time.

After a shower Yami dressed in his normal leather attire of black leather pants, black leather shirt with three buckles going across the front and his black combat boots. He was about ready to put his mask on, when he realized it was not where he had left it. Turning around he looked around the room until his eyes landed on Yuugi holding said mask in his hands.

"Yuugi..?"

Nervously Yuugi stood from his place on the bed and made his way over to Yami. He kept staring down at the mask in his hands even after he was standing in front of his partner. Concern crept to the front of Yami's mind as he reached out to take the mask, but before he could Yuugi had dropped it. This startled the King, but he soon welcomed the arms wrapped around his neck and the lips that reached up to meet his. It had been a while since Yami remembered Yuugi kissing him with such passion.

The kiss was nothing hasty it was gentle with a hint of passion, but no lust. No this was a kiss of want and need between two lovers. Yuugi stayed like that with Yami until the need for air came and he was forced to pull back. He gasped for air, before Yami pulled him back for more. Just as Yuugi predicted Yami's mind drifted from everything happening around them as his lips traveled from lips to jaw and then down to Yuugi's neck.

Yuugi pulled Yami closer shivering at the feel of his lover's lips on his neck. He knew Yami would take notice of his plans before long, but hopefully by then it would be too late.

As Yami moved down his neck, the King stopped his kisses when a very sweet and familiar scent reached his nose. He opened his eyes haven't realized he closed them and pulled back to see a small paper cut like wound on Yuugi where his shoulder and neck met. The blood in the small wound had yet to spill over, but it was there enough that it was driving Yami's vampire instincts wild. However unlike most of the younger vampires he was an age old vampire with better control.

The King went to pull away from his lover, when Yuugi tighten his grip on Yami's neck. "You need it…" He whispered.

Yami shook his head and pulled away making Yuugi's arms fall back to his side. He bent down and picked up his mask before putting it over his face where it belonged. Without another word he turned to leave only to have Yuugi grab on to his hand.

"Do not walk away from me like that…" Yuugi said with a hint of anger in his voice. "You have been starving yourself and if you won't feed yourself then it is up to me to make sure you are feed probably."

Yami sighed and turned to his future mate with his arms crossed. "Yuugi, I am perfectly fine. I do not need gallons of blood." He reached out to caress Yuugi's cheek. "I admire your concern, but I could never bring myself to drink from you."

Frustrated and angry for unknown reasons Yuugi slapped Yami's hand away and yanked his shirt collar down more exposing more skin. "If I did not know any better I would say something is wrong with my blood if you will not drink from me. I've already had a vampire tried to bite me before but with everything going around there could be more that want to hurt me." He forced a smile onto his face even if he was nervous as hell. "I know this may be cheesy, but I want my first time to be gentle and I trust you Yami."

At first it seemed like Yami would continue to turn and walk away, but to Yuugi's surprise his lover was back in front of him and kissing him again his mask long forgotten on the floor. Yuugi sighed in happiness and rewrapped his arms around Yami's neck. No matter how nervous Yuugi was about receiving a vampire bite he knew it would be worth it so long as it was from Yami.

* * *

By afternoon lunch Yami and Yuugi made it into Yami's office, where Yuugi enjoyed a well prepare cheeseburger while Yami sat at his desk looking over Anzu's file. The smaller human would sneak glances at his lover from his place on the couch and every time he did a blush would form on his face. Every now and then he would let his fingers run over the bite mark on his neck, which was still red and hurt a little. At first Yuugi thought it would be two small puncture holes like he had read in books, but it appeared he was wrong. Yami had explained after the bite, that in order for a vampire to get a good supply of blood they use all their teeth not just the two sharp fangs in the front.

At first the pain had felt horrible, but after Yami started to take his blood it felt kind of pleasurable. Yuugi couldn't explain how something so painful could also feel good, but it had and he knew he would never regret his decision. Sure he had felt sleepy afterwards and had to lie down for a good hour or two, then he had started to feel hungry, but it was worth it.

Papers shuffling caught Yuugi's attention back to his lover. Yami was rubbing his forehead in frustration as he looked over the file. Not liking the stressed look on the King's face, Yuugi made his way over to Yami and made sure he was comfortable on Yami's lap. Yami was not displeased with his little mate joining him and was quick to wrap his arms around him.

Yuugi purred as Yami started to kiss his neck while he was trying to look at the files too. He could not help but giggle and try to push Yami's face away as he felt the King's fangs run along his skin. "Yami not now…"

A pout formed on Yami's face, but he knew it would not be good to take more blood from Yuugi after earlier. He wanted his little one to stay awake for the rest of the day, plus if he took anymore then Yuugi could get ill from too much blood lost. However it had been thousands of years since he had last drank straight from a human. Blood from a warm body was so much better than the frigerated blood he drank. It was an addiction, but unlike most he had self-control and Yuugi's well-being always came first.

"So do you have all the information you need on Anzu?" Yuugi asked when he was sure he had Yami's attention.

Yami shrugged and showed Yuugi certain parts of the file. "Mahado found the connection between Anzu and Tea, turns out they were twins, but like some twins they were polar opposite. Tea was a smart girl with straight As in her schooling and always a friendly face to see. Anzu on the other hand was a trouble maker and like to hang around the wrong crowd. Their parents had tried to protect their daughter and find out why she always acted out, but never did. After Anzu and Tea had graduated high school, Anzu disappeared and they did not hear from her for two years until police responded to a call at a vacant house in the human district where neighbors had been calling and complaining about hearing screaming and loud music. When the police got their loud music was heard and when they entered the home they found about ten girls stripped naked and tied to different pieces of furniture downstairs and upstairs. Anzu was one of the three girls that survived being tortured and raped multiple times."

Yami sighed as he lean back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. "I remember that case, because it was a gang of human males who did the attack. They attacked certain females kidnapping them and no one knew where they were until the bodies were found in that house."

"Did you catch the gang?"

"Yes we did, because they left plenty of evidence behind so the police caught the five males within a week's time. They were put on trial here and because of the multiple deaths they were also put to death for destroying so many lives." Yami explained.

Yuugi moved Anzu's file to the side and picked up the one under it. On the front was a case number so he opened it and was surprised to find this was also about Anzu. After reading over the front page he could see it was a kidnapping case with no leads. By the date on the file Anzu had been missing since four years ago, which was about the time Yuugi had entered the city. In Anzu's other file she had only been missing for two years before they found her. So between the times Anzu had been found and before Yuugi entered the city Anzu had been kidnapped again.

"What is this kidnapping case about?"

Yami took the file off of Yuugi's hands and opened it to another page that had statements from possible witnesses. "According to this file after Anzu was admitted to the hospital she went missing the day after the gang was executed for their crimes. Anzu was admitted to the hospital in critical condition and a few doctors did not think she would make it. The other two girls who survived seemed to have been recently kidnapped since their wounds were only minor. After the trial a nurse found Anzu missing from her bed at the hospital, Anzu was said to have been in a light coma so she couldn't have just gotten up and left." Yami flipped to another page that had a small list of suspects. "The number one suspect they looked at was her doctor who went by the name of Duke Devlin. He happened to be a vampire and there have been cases where some doctors do not want to let their patients die so badly that they turn them. However not to get caught the police believed he took Anzu somewhere but it could never be proven. Dr. Devlin left the hospital a few months later saying it was for personal reasons. He has not been heard from since, so Anzu's case is still open with no more leads."

Yuugi put the file back on the desk and turned his head to look at Yami. "People do not disappear off the face of the earth. Dr. Devlin must have saved Anzu and now she is back for some kind of revenge. I would not be surprised if Dr. Devlin is helping Anzu for some reason and that is why no one has heard from him."

"You really think this is about revenge?" Yami asked to see where Yuugi's train of thought was going.

Yuugi nodded. "Anzu was tortured and raped by humans. They treated her like she was nothing, so I'm not surprised she is getting revenge on all other humans. We know Dr. Devlin or someone had to have changed Anzu for her to be living today as a vampire. It probably took her months to learn to control herself, before hatching this plan."

Yami had to agree with Yuugi's line of thinking. "But why all humans…? Not all humans are like the ones that attacked her."

"Trauma is all I can think about. She has become something that is superior to humans. Vampires are only weak against humans if the humans know their weakness. Anzu's line of thinking could be to kill all humans so they can't kill her," Yuugi replied, it sounded like a good enough theory to him.

It seemed Yami liked his theory too, because he pulled Yuugi into a kiss. When they broke Yami smiled at him. "You are something amazing you know that right?"

Yuugi smiled back at him. "I try to be helpful when I can."

Before Yami could swoop in for another kiss, there was a knock on his office door forcing Yami to put his mask back on. Yuugi moved off Yami's lap and stood beside him as Yami told the person they could enter. Ethan, Jason, and Taylor walked in and shut the door behind them. Jason went over to lounge on the couch while Taylor went to lean up against his father's desk and Ethan just stood in front of it.

"We wanted to report to you as soon as we got the news." Ethan said as he put a piece of paper in front of his father. "All the portal holders have agreed to take in the humans however Seto Kaiba sent us this letter with his reply. It was written by Joey Wheeler, Seto partner."

Yuugi looked over Yami's shoulder as he read the letter. The smaller adult sighed as he read his best friend's letter. It was a letter stated that Seto and Joey would take in Yuugi if the King wanted to keep Yuugi out of the city. Joey also stressed in the letter that he missed his little buddy and wished Yuugi would visit them. It hinted that even if Yuugi wanted to stay with Yami, they would feel better if he was out of the city.

"So are you going to go?" The question came from Taylor, who had that serious look in his eyes that showed he was not playing around like he normally did. No, in this time of war there was no time for messing around.

Yuugi shook his head. "I'll visit them after this war. I'm staying beside Yami until the end of it."

Yami was touched by Yuugi's words, but he did not want Yuugi's life in danger. "Yuugi…"

"Oh don't Yuugi me…" Yuugi interrupted him. "I will NOT leave your side. If you try and make me I will bite you."

"Dude!" Everyone jumped at Jason's sudden shout. "Who bit you Yuugi?"

Yuugi blushed and quickly covered the bite mark with his hands. Taylor dropped the serious act in favor of moving around the desk and taking Yuugi's hand away from his neck. Yuugi tried to protest but Taylor was stronger.

"That is quite the bite mark…" Taylor turned to his father with a grin on his face. "I didn't know you were drinking from Yuugi."

Yami glared at his son, wishing for once they could see it behind his mask. "I'm not drinking from Yuugi. He wanted to know what it felt like to be bitten by a vampire and with this war going on he did not want to be bitten by anyone else."

Taylor rolled his eyes. "Sure dad…" He stepped away from Yuugi, much to Yuugi's relief.

Ethan cleared his throat causing all eyes to turn to him. "I'm sorry to interrupt this moment about vampires and biting, but what about the humans?"

Yami opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a flash drive before tossing it to Ethan. "Every human who currently resides in the city is on that flash drive. It is only their names because their files will be in the filing room. However this list will help us split up the humans and sent them to a certain portal holder. Starting today I want all humans to come to the palace, inform them that they will be leaving for a while and they are to pack what they will need most. When they get here I want them checked off and asked if they have family outside this city. If they do have family, they will be sent to the portal holder who lives the closest to their family. Others will be placed where we can fit them." He looked at each of his sons to make sure they were listening. "I want this done by nightfall. No humans are to be outside these palace walls when night fall comes."

"What about the humans who are partnered with a vampire?" Jason questioned.

"Then that human is that vampire's responsibility. However if the human wishes to stay inside the city then he or she will have to live in the palace until the war is over." Yami replied. "Tomorrow morning we will have buses come and pick up groups of humans at a time to take them to the portals. It may take a while, but when all humans are gone that are leaving the portals will be shut down and no one is to enter the city."

Taylor, Ethan, and Jason nodded. "Yes father…" They bowed before leaving the room to get started on the long task they were given.

Yuugi turned to Yami after they had left. "What are we going to do?"

Yami stood up and stretched his back before taking Yuugi's hand in his. "We are going to inform all servants and workers around the palace that we need the ball rooms and extra bedrooms fixed up so the humans will be comfortable for their night stay."

So for the rest of the day as Taylor, Ethan, and Jason worked on their mission of getting the humans safely into the palace, Yuugi helped Yami in any way he could as they prepared the palace for their many guest. It currently was going to be a long day for everyone.

* * *

Two long and tiring days had everyone on edge as the humans were taken from the city. Before long only a thousand stayed behind including Yuugi because they had vampire partners they need not want to leave. Out of the fifty thousand people in the city only thirty thousand were left. It surprised Yuugi that only that many lived in the city when it seemed like the city held so many more people. However, some of the humans had already been out of the city whether on business or in college when everything was going on.

When the last of the humans were gone, the portals were shut down and were not to reopen until the King deemed the city safe. This left the city feeling empty as homes and streets were deserted besides the vampires who travelled around during the day.

On the third day was when all hell really started to break loose. It had been a quiet and sunny day until the sun started to set. When that happened patrol around the palace had tightened to protect the royal family, council and humans, however this left the city unprotected. Fires started to break out in the human distant and Yami could only send out so many of his firefighters and policemen to put it out the blazes and try to catch who had started them. Even a few hospitals were attacked, which Yami assumed ahead of time that the vampires, who were against the humans, would get hungry. The hospitals were emptied of patients, who were all human and blood, so Yami knew soon a bigger fight would break out because the vampires would get hungry. The only vampires who were allowed blood were the ones loyal to Yami, which were the ones staying in the palace willing to put their lives on the line to protect their King and the city.

That night while the city was in chaos, Yuugi sat locked up in Yami's room with the two little ones. Jason, who was put in charge of protecting Yuugi, was currently standing by the closed window looking out over the city. Chan was curled up in Yuugi's lap staring at a TV show on the TV and Kotaro was playing a computer game, while sitting next to Yuugi on the bed.

Yuugi sat watching the show with Chan while brushing the girl's brown locks. "How long do you think it will last?" He questioned worried about Yami, who was somewhere in the palace.

Jason shrugged, but never took his eyes from looking outside. "There is no telling, but there is a good chance this could get worst if the vampires are hungry enough for blood. The only blood in the city is in this palace."

"But there are like thousands of people protecting it…" Kotaro protested. "How can it get worst, can't we just get rid of them?"

The older one of the group turned to his younger brother and offered a gentle smile. "It's not that simple Kotaro. This is a war those vampires do not want to lose. If they lose it means death."

Chan turned her head to look up at Yuugi. "I'm worried about daddy…"

Amethyst eyes soften at her words and Yuugi was quick to wrap his arms around her. "It will be alright Chan. Your father will not let those vampires win."

All grew quiet again as they went back to what they were doing, however the moment of quiet did not last long as Yami forced open the door and stepped into his room. "Jason, head to the foyer and help your brothers they will explain everything when you get there."

When Jason did not move, clearly confused about what was going on his father started to yell at him to get his butt in gear and move out. Terrified of making his father angrier Jason did as told and left the room quickly.

The King turned to the rest of his family sitting on the bed before ordering Kotaro and Chan to wait in the hallway. They were smart and left as soon as the order left Yami's lips. The door was closed behind them.

Yuugi crawled to the end of the bed. "Yami what in the world is going on?"

Yami ignored his question for the moment in favor of going through the back of his closet for a long box. He pulled it out and opened it to reveal an ancient looking sword with a black jewel at the top near the hilt. The grip was made from metal with black ribbon wrapped around it. It was a simple looking sword, but Yuugi was sure to some vampires it could cause real damage, because he was sure the blade was made of pure silver.

"Yami, please tell me what is going on?" Yuugi begged. He did not want to be left in the dark.

"The palace is being attacked," replied Yami as he made his way to the bed. He stood in front of Yuugi and took a moment to caress the side of Yuugi's face, before gently taking the rose around Yuugi's neck into his hands. He closed his eyes and started to mumble something under his breath.

The room became much colder than it was before and Yuugi noticed the shadows around them were coming to life. Yuugi also felt somewhat lighter and it was then he realized Yami was taking the shadows from him.

The King called the shadows to him, before taking his hand away from Yuugi and putting it over the large black stone in his sword. The shadows seem to protest at first at being locked away again but Yami was much stronger. Once the shadows were gone the room become warm again and a little less scary for Yuugi.

When Yuugi looked back down at his necklace he noticed most of the color was gone but a tiny bit around the middle.

"I took most of them for this upcoming battle, but left enough to protect you if someone attacks. The shadows will only attack if someone comes after you." Yami explained as he moved back and moved the sword in his hands. It felt heavier but much more powerful.

"Yami…" Yuugi called out to his lover. "Tell me the truth this is the battle Anzu was talking about?"

Yami took off his mask and sighed. "I do not know as of yet. It could be the rouges are hungry enough to have a death wish by attacking us. Hunger can make a vampire do crazy things if they have no control." He took a moment to sit on the side of the bed beside Yuugi. "After all the humans were gone from the city I had the boys make a list of those who are missing and get photos. It seems Anzu has been kidnapping humans since she became one. I never realized how many kidnapping cases were out there. Bakura and Marik being in charge of the police forces gave me the files they received, but all the cases were unsolved because they had no leads."

Yuugi took Yami's hand in his and squeezed it. "I'm guessing you've noticed the rouges are the missing humans…"

Yami nodded. "Some have already been killed so I ordered the bodies that could be recovered taken to Bakura and Marik to be looked over. We have identified only five bodies as missing humans. Even if some of the vampires end up being completely destroyed we will have to temporary close all the open kidnapping cases until we find bodies. The cases will be reopened when all the bodies have been identified and if some of the cases do not have a body to match to it, then it will remain unsolved until we either find a body or the person, which for some could be never."

A few tears leaked out of Yuugi's eyes at those words. "I can't help but feel sorry for those families who will go through such pain when they realized their loved ones were killed because of vampires turning them into rouges." He explained his unhappiness, but felt better when Yami wrapped an arm around him.

"I wish it could have been helped Yuugi, but even I was taken by surprise."

Yuugi agreed. "I know and that doesn't make you any less of a King."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before an explosion so strong shook most of the palace. Yuugi squeaked in surprise and clung to Yami. Yami growled low in his throat.

"They will pay for what they are doing to this city in death."

Gently Yami uncurled Yuugi's fingers from around his arm. He then placed a breathtaking kiss upon little lover's lips. When he pulled back he gave Yuugi a smile before standing. "Please stay safe. I will have Chan and Kotaro come back in here to guard you as best they can encase someone makes it in here."

As Yami went to walk away that was when Yuugi noticed his mask laid forgotten beside him on the bed. "Yami your mask…" He held it out to him but the King did not take it.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder at Yuugi and offered a smirk his way. "If these villains are no longer going to hide from me then I am no longer going to hide from them or my people." He then gave Yuugi a wink. "Besides they will be looking for a man in a mask to be the King."

Without another word Yami left the room, but it wasn't long before Chan and Kotaro returned. They closed and locked the door behind them.

Chan looked to Kotaro with a surprised look on her face. "Was that really daddy?"

Kotaro was just as surprised as she was. "It has to be he came out of this room and was wearing daddy's clothes."

They both looked toward Yuugi to find him holding Yami's mask close to him. '_Please be safe and come back to me_' was Yuugi's only thought as he prayed for Yami to return to him alive.

* * *

It was anything but a quiet evening in the palace as fights broke out all over. There were wounded and dead bodies littering the courtyards and hallways. The palace had the wonderful smell of blood for vampires, but for humans the smell was horrible. Out of the whole palace it seemed the only untouched area was the King's quarters, which was where Yuugi, Chan, and Kotaro were hiding out.

Kotaro camped out near the door to listen if anyone tried to get in, while Chan moved back and forth between the bed and the window. It looked as if she could not decide whether to stand next to the window to watch out or stand next to Yuugi and be a comfort to him.

In the thirty minutes they had been left in that room, Yuugi had yet to move from the bed or take his eyes off of Yami's mask. Every once in a while he would move his fingers over the front of it. It had been well crafted and it was no surprise how ancient it felt. Yami had kept it in good shape for how old it was.

Yuugi was pulled from his thoughts when he heard running down the hall. Kotaro checked the lock on the door before moving back waiting and hoping no one tried to get in. They all held their breath as the footsteps got closer but when they ran pass, they all let out a sigh of relief.

That relief was sort lived however as the window Chan had been but a foot away from shattered before their eyes and five figures jumped in. Without thinking Yuugi grabbed Chan by the arm and pulled her with him to stand by Kotaro at the door. If they needed to make a run for it, they could as Kotaro quietly unlocked the door and kept his hand on the doorknob.

The five figures straighten themselves out and Yuugi immediately recognized three out of the five. Anzu stood in front of the group with a smirk on her face while Jiro stood to her left and Valon stood behind her. There was another male to Anzu's right and another female beside Valon in the back.

Anzu looked around the room, before a pout formed on her face. "I could have sworn his Majesty would be in here hiding like a coward."

Yuugi's blood boiled at those words. Yami was in no way a coward. "Shut up! Yami is not a coward he is out there fighting to protect his people."

"Oh really… then you must know where he is…" Anzu took a step forward while the three took a step back.

Yuugi shook his head and held the mask closer. It was then Anzu noticed the mask in his hands and she started to laugh.

"He seriously is out there without his mask." She slapped her forehead. "We have been following a shadow."

The male to Anzu's right looked to her. "What do we do now Anzu?"

An evil smirk formed on Anzu's face as she kept her eyes on Yuugi. "Jiro will handle these three while the rest of us continue to look for the King, however this time look for someone with hair like his." She pointed at Yuugi's hair, which in turn made Yuugi wish him and Yami did not have similar hair.

The four left as soon as they had come, leaving Jiro in the room. He grinned evilly at them and cracked his knuckles. "Let's get this started shall we?"

Kotaro threw open the door and pushed Yugi out. "Run Yuugi!"

Yuugi did not need to be told twice as he ran for it. He feared for both Chan and Kotaro having to go up against their brother, but there was no way he could stay around with Jiro.

As he took off down the hall, Chan went at her brother only to get a kick to the stomach and thrown across the room. Kotaro went at him next and got a good bite in before he was also thrown and landed on top of Chan who had been trying to get up.

Jiro laughed at their failed attempts to fight him. "You really think you can beat your brother when I was the one that taught you two how to fight."

Chan growled as she stood up. "You are not our brother…" She went at him again with fangs bared.

* * *

Yuugi squeaked as a body landed in front of him and moved around it before continuing to take off trying to find a place safe from all the fighting or at least get to Yami. He did not realize how bad it truly was until he saw all the damage done to the palace. There was rumble where walls used to be and bodies landed lifeless on the ground. Tears wanted to come to his eyes, but Yuugi fought against them in favor of seeing where he was going.

He ran through hallways and down stairs until finally he somehow ended up at the throne room. Taking a deep breath Yuugi peeked around the doorway to see vampires from both sides fighting. Yami and Anzu were in the middle of it all she had a dagger in her hand while Yami held his sword. They were both glaring at each other and blocking each other's moves left and right. Other follower vampires of Anzu would try to attack Yami at the same time, but Yuugi could tell Yami was a very talented fighter when he took down those vampires and continue to fight Anzu.

When Yuugi felt a tap on his shoulder he frozen and slowly turned his head. However it was not a happy face that greeted him. Jiro stood behind him with blood on his hands and an evil grin.

"Miss me little Yuugi…"

No matter how girly it may have sounded Yuugi screamed as loud as he could and ran into the room hoping to reach Yami. Yami looked toward the scream and his eyes widened when he saw Yuugi running to him from Jiro.

"You really shouldn't look away from a fight…" Anzu taunted.

Before Yami could react Anzu went in for another attack at Yami, but he moved just enough so he only receive a gash on the arm instead of the chest. Yami cringed as he held his bleeding arm, but still held his sword tightly in his hand.

Yami hissed at her. "You'll pay for that bitch!" Letting go of his arm he went at her with full force. She blocked the first few attacks, but with how pissed Yami was he somehow got the upper hand. The sword went clear threw her stomach shocking her, but not enough to stop her from stabbing Yami in the back since he was close enough.

The King did not even flinch at the new stab wound and pulled his sword out of her to let the blood flow more freely to the ground. Anzu placed a hand over the wound, but did seem to weaken from the attack. If at all she seemed to laugh at it.

"You spent all this time coming after me, when you should have been looking after your pathetic excuse for a mate…" She laughed and pointed behind Yami.

Yami worried about his lover, decided to take the chance to look behind him. His eyes widened when a few feet from their battle he saw Yuugi by his throne being corner by Jiro. "No…" he whispered.

Just as he was about to go to him, Anzu took the distraction she caused and used it to her advantage. Since he was not looking Anzu used the last of her strength to jump on Yami and wrap her arms around his neck.

* * *

Yuugi stood near the throne with his back against the wall as Jiro lean over him with a smirk on his face.

"Thought you could get away from me?"

Terror ran through Yuugi's veins, but he was not going to let his life end like this. With a small amount of courage, Yuugi went to knee Jiro in the groin, however instead Yuugi froze as pain started to pass through his body.

As if in slow motion, Yuugi slowly looked down and his eyes widen when all he saw was blood and saw that Jiro's hand had gone through his stomach. As Jiro pulled his hand away, Yuugi coughed and immediately tasted the foul taste of blood. Blood poured from the wound put Yuugi felt his hands were too weak to cover the hole.

A cry escaped Yuugi's lips as his head was forced back and he was forced to drink something else foul tasting. It did not taste any different from the blood already in his mouth and it was then he realized Jiro was force feeding him more blood. Sadly Yuugi's body was already becoming weak from the blood lost to really fight back.

After giving Yuugi a good amount of his own blood Jiro dragged Yuugi to the front of the throne and laid him down. He sat himself down on the stairs beside Yuugi's head and watched the battles before him like nothing was going on.

Yuugi laid there in pain staring at Jiro having no idea what Jiro was trying to do to him. He felt as if he was going to die, but at the same time he felt like his body was trying to heal him but couldn't.

Jiro looked down at his own wound he created on his wrist and watched as it healed. "I gave you enough of my blood to keep you alive at least through the night, but you'll need more from Yami to stay alive as a vampire." He grinned down at Yuugi like they were best buddies. "I'm sure this battle is almost over. Anzu never stood a chance against my father."

Yuugi wanted to question Jiro about what he meant. He had no idea why Jiro wanted him to stay alive for Yami, however he found his voice was lost to him in his weak state.

"I bet you are wondering why I'm keeping you alive…" Jiro looked at Yuugi for a minute before turning his eyes back to the battles before him. "It was nothing against you Yuugi. I knew one day my father would find love and I was just waiting for that day so I could use it to my advantage. You see ever since I became a vampire I hated my new life. I begged my father for death after I became a vampire and saw the monster I was. He refused saying it was against the law he created to kill someone if they have not done wrong. So I waited for hundreds of years and tried to live with my new life, but I hated it still in the end." He looked over where Yami was still fighting Anzu, but it was easy to see she was losing and so was her army. "Four years ago before you entered the city I found Anzu and she started to discuss this plan to get back at all humans. I knew my father would never stand for it and I was going to tell him, however a plan of my own formed in my head. I knew if I made Yami mad enough he would have no choice but to kill me. I could not believe I had not thought of it sooner, but it made it all the more better because I had my father's trust. I started to help Anzu, but she never knew I was always the one in charge. I was the one who did the research on my father and found out he had in the past been a pharaoh who locked away a deadly power."

Jiro paused in his explanation to make sure Yuugi was still with him and when he saw Yuugi still looking at him with pain in his eyes he continued his tale. "When he fell in love with you and gave you that necklace, I put two and two together. He had given you his power…" He reached down to pick up the necklace still around Yuugi's neck and Yuugi was surprised that he could without the shadows going after him.

"I've also found that if my mind is clear of evil intentions the shadows think I am a friend." He yanked the necklace from around Yuugi's neck and tossed it on the ground causing it to shatter. The shadows that had been trapped roamed free now and started to attack those that meant ill will toward Yami or his mate. "This is why I attacked you that day and asked about the powers. I knew Yami would not tell you what was in the necklace and it was Anzu's plan for you to die to make Yami hurt and weak. I just changed her plan up a bit and hurt you bad enough to make Yami and my brothers grow to hate me more. If I had really wanted you dead you would have been dead long ago."

Yuugi's mind started to grow fuzzy even after he tried take in what Jiro was telling him. Black dots started to form in his vision and he knew it would not be long before he lost consciousness.

Jiro smiled down at Yuugi and Yuugi felt for once it was a real true smile. "It was nice knowing you even if we never truly knew each other. I left a key in your night stand that opens a lockbox in my closet. There is a journal in there I kept that will tell my story if you want to know the real me."

"Yuugi!"

Just before Yuugi lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was Taylor attacking Jiro with a deadly blow to his chest with a silver sword.

* * *

Sakura: As stated in the very beginning! I'm HORRIBLE at fight scenes, so sorry if you did not like the fighting but I needed to focus more on Jiro and Yuugi in the end more then the fighting.

Yumi: What the hell? How dare you end it like that!

Sakura: Hey! Don't get mad at me, I planned that from the start when I was writing chapter one. This story was planned out from the beginning.

Yumi: Still a mean place to stop it…

Sakura: The chapter is already fourteen pages, the longest chapter of this story so I think I did good...

Yumi: Please review to make the authoress happy so she'll write faster!


	24. Chapter 24

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **So a good few readers enjoyed the last chapter and I am glad for that. Now it is time to see the condition of lovely little Yuugi and few other things in this chapter I'm sure everyone will love.

No matter how many times I apologize can make up for making my readers wait so long, but no more worries, because here is the next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**REBORN**

Welcome to your new life

* * *

Silence…

Complete and utter silence filled his ears and it was starting to get to him. His mind was foggy and there were things he felt like he needed to remember but couldn't. Drifting in and out of conciseness the youngling tried to wake up to stop the numbing that had taken over his body. His body felt like a dead weight and it was starting to freak him out. The one main thought that kept coming around was that he needed to live because there were people who cared for him who would be devastated by his death.

Slowly as his mind tried to clear, a single name surfaced in his memories. Yami… It was the name of the most important person in his life. It was the name of his friend, lover, and future husband.

A new fire stirred inside of him as he willed himself to control his body. Memories one by one returned to him of Yami. All the time they spent together with or without the children. The dates they went on and the time Yami proposed. Even all the heartache they went through over a worth less battle.

Somehow a groan drifted passed dry lips and followed by that was a coughing fit because of how dry his throat also was. Sound started to return as he heard hurried footsteps come to him and felt whatever he was laying on dip down at the weight of another person.

The person was speaking, but it sounded mumbled. Next thing that happened was his head being dipped back and some foul tasting liquid passing his tongue and going down his throat.

On its own accord his body sat up and made him throw up whatever the person had been trying to give him. However before it could fall back onto the surface his body had once being laying on, arms encircled around his shoulders and pulled him flush against a warm chest.

A wonderful scent hit his now working nose as his head laid on what he believed to be the person's shoulder. His mouth ached with need and before he knew what he was doing, his mouth opened and latched onto what was giving off the wonderful smell.

Teeth bit down into warm flesh and sweet tasting liquid entered his starving body. He would have believed the person would have pulled away, but for some reason he or she did not. The person only held him closer and fingers started to run through his hair in sort of a soothing method to help him relax.

His body responded to the food it was being given and did relax under the treatment. Senses heighten as he drank and new found strength returned. But all too soon it had to end as he was pulled away from his food.

A growl escaped his no longer parched throat as he tried to latch back on, but was stropped as the person held his face in a firm grip.

"Yuugi…"

His struggles ended by that familiar voice and it was then he also realized that he could hear clearly. Sounds of all kinds reached his ears from birds chirping outside to people walking, but he had no idea where these sounds were. It also made him wonder where he was.

It was then he decided enough was enough and it was time to see what his fate had become. Amethyst eyes drifted open and it took a minute for Yuugi to blink the blurriness away. When he could see clearly the first face he saw was that of his lover smiling at him. Tears began to form in his eyes to see that Yami was alive and well.

"Yami…" Yuugi reached a hand up to touch the beautiful face of his love and he was delighted to feel the King's skin behind his fingers. "This isn't a dream?"

Yami shook his head and placed his forehead against Yuugi's. "No the war is over and the city is at peace once again. We can finally relax and prepare for our wedding." He grinned at his last words and placed a gentle kiss on Yuugi's lips.

Yuugi sighed happily in the kiss, but when Yami pulled back he saw some blood on Yami's mouth. He frown in confusion and reached up to wipe it away. It was then he realized when he had first saw Yami, Yami did not have any blood on him, so it had to come from…

Yami wiped his mouth clean of any blood as he watched Yuugi reach up to his own mouth and wipe it with the back of his hand. When Yuugi pulled his hand down to look at it he was surprised to find blood on his hand. As he looked at it his mouth started to ache at the sight of it and the smell.

A gentle smile came to Yami's eyes as he saw the look in Yuugi's eyes of hunger. He knew Yuugi was still hungry, so he guessed letting Yuugi have a little more of his own blood wouldn't hurt. However he knew in the back of his mind if he was going to protect his people he would have to get Yuugi to drink blood from the hospital like all other vampires, because if Yuugi were to get too attached to drinking from a body.

The King shook his head at the thought, because he did not want to picture Yuugi turning into a blood thirsty monster like he had been and all those rouges he killed had been. Careful so as not to scare Yuugi, he pulled his future mate close and lead his head on his shoulder so Yuugi would see his slowly healing wound Yuugi had given Yami earlier when he had awoken.

Yuugi's eyes widen at the sight of the wound, but his mind would not process he had hurt his fiancé and only saw food. He felt like he had no control over his body as he lean in close. When his teeth bit down into Yami's flesh again and the sweet taste of blood entered his mouth it was then that Yuugi realized what he had become.

* * *

Taylor left the kitchen with a sigh as he carried a tray with a glass of blood and a bag of blood on it. It had been a week since the battle and vampires all over were trying to repair the palace and city. Humans were not allowed back into the city until it was somewhat rebuilt to be considered livable. The week had been dragging by slowly, but with all the vampires working together it would be but one more week before the humans could return.

Servants bid him a good day as he passed by them on his way to his father's chambers. He forced a smile on his face, but most could tell it not a true smile, because thoughts had been weighing heavy on his mind. Firstly during the battle he was force to kill his brother Jiro and then he felt like he had failed his father and Yuugi when he let Yuugi get hurt. Honestly all the children felt like failures, but Taylor had been so close he felt like he could have somehow saved Yuugi from his fate of death.

However he had been surprised to find Yuugi was still somewhat alive when he turned his attention to him after killing his brother. Yuugi had been still breathing but it had been swallow, plus the wound Yuugi had received looked to have been trying to heal itself, but it was healing poorly and slowly causing Yuugi to see lose blood. The smell would have over whelmed Taylor at the time if he wasn't more worried about saving Yuugi.

It wasn't but a minute after Jiro was killed that Yami was at Yuugi's side also. Taylor had taken in the blood all over his father and when his eyes drifted over to where Yami had been fighting Anzu. He found her body in bloody pieces. Before long the fight after that went downhill for Anzu's small army as all of those against Yami were either killed or capture to await trial.

Before the fighting had even been over Yami had already ran from the throne room with Yuugi in his arms hoping to save him. The only thing Taylor could do at the time was watch as his father ran from the battle with his dying partner in his arms.

The scene had torn at Taylor's heart, but after the fighting had been over all the children who thankfully lived through it all, had went to the infirmary to see if Yuugi would be okay. When they arrived they found Yami by Yuugi's side and heard the wonderful news from Ishizu that Yuugi would live, but only as a vampire.

The children were happy by the news, but they could tell that Yami was upset because he was forced to make the choice for Yuugi. They all knew there was no telling if Yuugi would be happy being a vampire. However deep down Taylor knew Yuugi would have wanted to live to see another day.

The oldest son of the King approached his father's chambers where both the King and Yuugi had been held up for a week. Once Yuugi was safe enough to move Yami had Yuugi moved back to their room until the day he would wake up. Everyone knew how newborns acted when they woke up. They were normally dazed and confused and would sometimes lash out at anyone. Taylor and his siblings were no different but those days seemed like faded memories now. However for Yuugi it would be a while before he could fully be around vampires and humans. Yuugi would see other vampires besides his mate as threats and humans as food. It was going to be a long process, but everyone had faith in the King's future husband.

Taylor knocked once and waited until he had his father's permission to enter. It took but a minute for his father to reply back, so Taylor opened the door and stepped in. He was surprised by the site that met him.

Yami was lean back against the headboard of the bed with Yuugi curled up in front of him and Yuugi's head on Yami's lap. That however was not what surprised Taylor. No it was the fact Yuugi was wide awake and staring at him.

Yami chuckled and ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair. "You can come in, he won't bit I promise."

Taylor rolled his eyes. "You make him sound like a pet." He took careful steps toward the bed and set the food for his father on the bed side table. The whole time Yuugi's eyes never once stopped looking at him. The newborn vamp had even got up and turned around to stare at him.

"He is looking at me like I'm food." Taylor said as a shiver went down his spine. He remembered those days with his younger siblings. They all gave him that look because they saw him as a threat. Normally they would lash out, but Yuugi seemed rather calm.

Yami nodded. "Yuugi will be like this for a while, but I feed him when he woke up so he won't lash out at you."

It was then Taylor noticed the blood on Yuugi mouth and when his eyes drifted up toward his father for an answer, he saw the healing bite mark on his neck. A frown marked Taylor's face. "Father…"

"Don't father me… I know the rules, but you had not arrived yet and he was hungry." Yami explained. "I knew it could be a while before you bought my food up and along with food for Yuugi if he woke up. It won't hurt this one time for him to drink blood from me."

Taylor sighed and handed his father his goblet of blood. "I know there are no rules for older vampires biting their partners, but even you know how dangerous it is for young vampires to get fresh blood."

Yami downed about half of his drink before handing it back to Taylor. "Yes I know, but it will not happen again so long as someone brings him his food when he is hungry."

"Just let me know when he gets hungry and I will bring it to him." Taylor replied, while keeping his eyes on Yuugi, just like Yuugi was keeping a watchful eye on him.

The King agreed before reaching out and pulling Yuugi close. Yuugi purred like a cat and snuggled into Yami. Taylor rolled his eyes at the scene and went to take his leave.

"I'll leave you two alone, but it will be good if you come out father and inform the rest of your children about Yuugi."

Yami nodded his head. "I will…"

Once Taylor was gone, Yami turned his attention to Yuugi. "I'm very proud of you for not attacking Taylor."

Yuugi wrinkled his nose like he smelled something bad. "He smelled funny and I felt all protective for some reason. "He looked up at Yami with his adorable amethyst eyes. "I won't always feel this way will I?"

Yami shook his head. "No you will not sweetheart. It's a process you must face and it will be the same when getting use to humans and not seeing them as food." He reassured Yuugi. "Now why don't we get you into a nice warm bath and clean you up."

Yuugi smiled and agreed to that. "I like that idea."

* * *

It took over two full months before Vampire City was back in business. Humans and vampires alike roamed the rebuilt city once more together. Even after the war between the vampires, the humans bond with the vampires had not change. If at all it strengthened the bond because of those vampires who fought to protect the humans. More humans and vampires were seen living in the same neighborhood, except those vampires who were weak against the sun. There were still humans that wanted to live in different neighbors than vampires, but at least they weren't frightened of them.

The King was proud to rule the city once more without fear of war or rebellion. Yami made sure that all the vampires who were apart of the rebellion were dealt with. They were even able to save very few humans that had been turned into vampires and were forced to fight in the senseless war. Those few vampires were reunited with their families and going under serious rehab to help change them from their blood thirsty ways.

Those who had died trying to protect the humans were put to rest in a newly built cemetery to honor them, while the bodies of the traitors were burned and their ashes dumped. However the bodies of the kidnapped people who were forced to fight in the war were given burials so their families could visit their graves.

All in all the city was moving on and life in the city had returned to normal. However even though the city had returned to normal life didn't mean everyone had come out of the war unchanged.

The King's future mate had it the hardest trying to adjust to his new life as a vampire. Yuugi was forced to stay behind closed doors away from everyone except his mate. Slowly Yami would reintroduce Yuugi to the children again so he could get used to their scents and not see them as a threat. Once it appeared that Yuugi did not see the children as a threat, Yami planned to allow Yuugi slight freedom in the palace as long as someone was with him. There were still humans that worked in the palace and Yuugi was not yet up to being around them alone.

It was a long process that Yuugi would have to face but his new family had faith in him.

* * *

The palace hallways came to life as touches were lit in the setting sun. Night vampire workers began their travel into the palace to being the night shift of work while vampire and humans who worked during the day were making the journey home to be by themselves or with their families.

Yuugi carefully opened his bedroom door to check the hallways and when seeing no one he walked out and closed the door. Taking a deep breath Yuugi began his journey through the palace hallways on a mission that he wanted to get done before Yami realized he wasn't there for dinner. Four months had passed since the battle and Yuugi was thankfully getting used to being a vampire. He had begun to notice the difference in how he was as a human and his vampire life style now. The first thing he noticed was that he did things a lot faster. He would be through with normal task such as picking up their room before he even noticed he was done. Then there was the night vision and the super smell.

At the moment he was not weak against anything that he knew of and he was even more pleased to know the sun did not make him weak. Yami had informed him that since Jiro partially changed him and then Yami finished the job, that he would most likely be weak against what Jiro and Yami were weak against, which would be silver. However Yami was not up for testing their theory until Yuugi hit the one year mark of being a vampire.

At the hit of the fourth month mark Yuugi was allowed to roam the palace freely without a chaperone once night hit and all the humans went home. He was not yet allowed to leave the palace until Yami was sure he would not attack a human, even at night he was not allowed to leave the palace. This was because there were still humans out at night, while in the palace at night there were no humans. During the day when the humans came back to work, if Yuugi wanted to leave his room he had to have a vampire chaperone with him, although most of the time Yuugi found himself following Yami around. Night was the only time Yuugi had alone time to himself now that he did not see fellow vampires as a threat.

On this night Yuugi decided to complete his mission while Yami was busy before dinner. He turned down the children's hallway and made sure the hallway was empty before making a dash for a certain room. For a moment Yuugi just stood there looking at the door before he finally gripped the doorknob and turned it. Once inside Yuugi quickly closed the door back and turned on the lights.

The room was neat and tidy with nothing out of place. He checked the room out by walking around and noticed that the room didn't really look live in at all. There were no personal items except some clothes in the open closet and one picture on a night stand. Yuugi walked over to it and picked it up.

"You know I still can't believe sometimes that he is gone."

Yuugi jumped and nearly dropped the picture as he turned to see Ethan standing in the room.

Ethan smiled at him and walked over to sit on the bed. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

Yuugi sighed and put the picture up. "There was something I needed to get before Yami decided to get rid of everything, but now that I finally see the room there is nothing but clothes to get rid of."

"I saw you come in here and I was worried that something was wrong…" Ethan looked around the room before looking back at Yuugi. "I thought it would be a while before Yami or any of us would feel strong enough to come here."

Yuugi put his hand in his pocket and felt the key that was there. He had almost forgotten about it until a week after he woke up, he had opened his nightstand to put something in there and found the key with a note. It was addressed from Jiro with a simple sentence written on the note.

_Welcome to the Family_

It had confused him at first until with a horrible flashback he remembered all that Jiro had told him. He then remembered the journal. It took him until now to become brave enough to come retrieve the journal before Yami did something with the room.

"So what did you need to come and get?" Ethan questioned puling Yuugi from his thoughts.

Yuugi took a deep breath before walking over to the closet. He kneeled down on the floor and moved some shoes out of the way. Behind all the shoes was a small lock box. He pulled it out carefully before standing up and taking it back over to Ethan. He sat it beside the boy and pulled out the key.

"Jiro told me about this lockbox after he attacked me. He said he would leave the key in my nightstand, but I only found the key a week after I had woken up. By then I wasn't allowed to leave the room, so I left the key in my night stand. I was hoping to forget about it because I knew I would never be brave enough to come to his room, but a few days ago Yami was talking to me about finally getting the family to move on by cleaning out Jiro's room." Yuugi put the key in the lockbox and opened it. Inside he found a small black journal with Jiro's name on the front.

Ethan watched as Yuugi pulled the journal out. "He wanted you to have a book?"

Yuugi shook his head. "It's his journal. He said he wanted me to read it to find out about the real him." He took a minute to look at the front cover before holding it out to Ethan. "I feel as if I shouldn't read it because he never did anything good for me, but I also feel as if I never really got to see the real Jiro. It would have been nice for us to have gotten along as a family. Besides I feel this journal might help Yami not hate Jiro so much."

Ethan kept a firm grip on the journal. "I was his older brother for hundreds of years and I did not even know the real Jiro."

"I know this may be hard but can I ask you a favor?"

Ethan looked up at Yuugi and nodded. "Yeah what is it?"

"I need someone to watch out for the journal. I'm not ready to read it and I know Yami may tear it up if he finds the thing in our room. I just wanted to get it out of here before Yami did something with Jiro's room. I was going to find you after I retrieved the journal and ask you to watch it for me." Yuugi explained hoping Ethan was willing to help him out even after all Jiro did to their family.

"I understand Yuugi, but…" Ethan took one more look at the journal. "You do realize I share a room with Taylor. If he were to find it then he would be like our father and tear it up."

"I am willing to take that risk," Yugi told Ethan. "It's just at the moment Yami and I have things we need to sort out before either of us will be ready to see what Jiro wrote."

One look from Yuugi and those pleading eyes and Ethan lost the small battle going on in his head. "Fine, I think I know a place I can hide it. However if Taylor finds it you will have to explain everything to him. He is still sore over what our brother did to this family."

Yuugi agreed. "I know it has to hurt Taylor more given Taylor was the one to kill him."

The room grew silent for a while before Ethan noticed the time on his watch. "Dinner will be ready soon. We better go before Yami sends a search party when he realizes you are not in your room."

With that being said the two left the room after Yuugi put the lockbox up and headed to Ethan and Taylor's room. Once Ethan hide the journal in his personal belongs that Taylor wasn't supposed to touch, the two of them hurried through the palace to the dining hall where they were sure the rest of their family was gathering.

The two of them knew it would be a long while before anyone felt up to opening that journal. The betrayal of Jiro still hurt them too deeply to be forgotten even after the war was over.

As the two entered the dining hall they found everyone seated and talking happily among themselves. Yami looked up when he heard them enter. He quickly stood up long enough to pull Yuugi's seat out for him and give him a small kiss on the lips.

Yuugi smiled up at his fiancé. It was moment's like these he would trade nothing for. One day they would be able to fully move on and that was the day Yuugi prayed for every day.

* * *

Sakura: I know this may have seemed like an ending to most of you, but believe it or not there is still one more chapter left!

Yumi: God you take a four month break and you still can't finish this story.

Sakura: I'm almost there and at least the next chapter will not take four months to write. I should have the next chapter out in a few weeks once I try and update my other stories.

Yumi: Review!


	25. Chapter 25

**Small Note**

**Sakura: **(Holds back tears) I can't believe it is finally the ending! This story has been so popular with over 500 reviews!

**Yumi: **Thank you to everyone who did review and who loved the story. Now it is time for the last chapter…

***The title of this chapter and the small quote below belong to Ellen Schreiber, who is by far the greatest authoress! She has written this series called Vampire Kisses which has nine books and my favorite by far is book number nine which is the last one and just came out this month. I wasn't sure what to do about Yugi and Yami's wedding until after I read that book. So the wedding ceremony will be similar to the one in Mrs. Schreiber's books with some things added by me to make it slightly different.**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

**Immortal Hearts**

I will love you for all of eternity

* * *

**Two Years Later**

Moonlight streamed into the King's study as he sat wide awake that night and on his desk with a small black journal with Jiro's name on the front. Yami was normally not someone who would hold a grudge against anyone, but after everything Jiro did to his family and lover. In Yami's mind he felt that he could never forgive his dead son even after reading everything written in that journal.

It was a year after the battle that Yuugi had gotten up the courage to tell Yami about the journal. It seemed Yuugi had finally read the journal and he thought it was now Yami's turn. Even Taylor and Ethan had read a few things out of it, but the pain never went away.

Two years it took before the King to decided it was time to see what had made Jiro's life so horrible that he would betray his family. What Yami found in the journal was quite a shock.

All of Jiro's pain at being turned into a vampire was written at the beginning. Then the pages moved on to where he tried to accept his life and try to love his family, but something kept eating him up inside that being a vampire was wrong. Later the pages told of Jiro's plans of suicide, but he could never go through with it. The ending of the journal is what really made Yami's blood boil, because it told of his deal with Anzu and the final plot Jiro had come up with to end his life.

The last page of the journal is one Yami knew he would never forget no matter how hard he tried. Reaching over he opened the book and turned it to that last page.

_To my family:_

_Father- I know you only wanted to save my life, but I cannot live with being a vampire. It's hard to explain the reasons behind my dislike, because I have seen how strong you can be for the humans. Not all vampires are bad, but something about living forever like this has turned me to want to kill myself. I'm sorry for all the pain I will cause you at my death. I know nothing will make up for my betrayal._

_Ethan, Taylor, and Jason- I am proud to call you my brothers. I'm sorry if I was not a good enough brother to the three of you. However know this, I have learned so much from you guys and if things had been better I would have spent more time with you._

_Kotaro and Chan- You two are becoming stronger every day. I know sometimes it may be hard to live the life as a child forever, but if anyone can do it I know you two can. Watch out for the family and make sure to smile for them, because you two are the best at making others feel better._

_Yuugi-There is nothing I can say to make up for the pain I have caused you. I may never have told you this, but I can tell you are the best thing to have ever come to this family. I wish in some way you could have saved me, but if you are reading this, then I made my choice and I'll no longer be a burden to anyone. My father loves you Yuugi and I know you love him. Together you will be able to protect and rule over this city with love and devotion. Welcome to the family…_

"Honey…?"

Yami quickly closed the journal and looked up to see his future husband standing in the doorway with a smile. He was dressed in his cute star pajamas.

Yuugi closed the door behind him and made his way to his lover's desk. "I figured you would be in here. I thought we were going to have a late night movie with the kids after supper."

"I'll be there in a minute Yuugi there was just something I forgot to do before supper." Yami told Yuugi as he placed his hands over the small book to hide what it was.

However there was no hiding what it was from Yuugi. "I see you have been reading it again." He informed his lover as he moved Yami's hands and picked up the journal.

Yami sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "No matter how many times I read it, I still feel like I never really knew Jiro. He was my son for hundreds of years, yet after reading that I feel like he was a stranger to me."

Yuugi moved around the desk and placed the journal in the top drawer of Yami's desk, before embracing his fiancé. "I sometimes think Jiro might have been scared to show the real him to you. He didn't want you to reject him for not liking his lifestyle of being a vampire. In some twisted way I believe Jiro wanted to put as much distant between you and him as a family so it would hurt less in the end when he finally was able to end his life."

"It still does hurt this family, because he was a part of it whether he believed it or not. I changed him to give him a second chance at life. He would have suffered a horrible death if I hadn't helped him." Yami pulled Yuugi on to his lap and hugged him close. "I'm just grateful he didn't kill you. I don't know what I would do without you."

Yuugi smiled. "Well you certainly wouldn't be getting married in a week if he did."

Yami chuckled and looked at the ring on Yuugi's finger. He couldn't believe they were only a week away from their wedding. It was finally going to happen after all the struggles they went through and the wait for Yuugi to go through his process of the vampire change.

The King kissed Yuugi's hand before running his lips down Yuugi's neck.

The newly turned vamp purred under the treatment, but pulled away before things got heated. He turned to face his lover and gave him a chaste kiss. "Save it for the honeymoon sweetie, we have some children who are dying to watch some late night movies with us."

"Alright if you say so…" Yami replied as he allowed Yuugi to get up. He followed after him as he headed for the door.

However before he opened the door Yuugi turned back to Yami and wrapped his arms around him. They shared a good long kiss, before pulling away.

"What was that for?" Yami asked slightly out of breath.

Yuugi grinned showing off his cute vampire fangs. "Just to say I love you so much and I can't wait to get married."

Yami had to agree with that. "You've already been a part of this family, but I'll enjoy being able to call you my husband, my mate, my aibou."

"Let's get going before the children start to worry."

After that being said Yami grabbed Yuugi's hand is his as they left the office and started down the hall hand in hand.

* * *

**The Wedding**

Yuugi paced around nervously in Yami's office which had been converted to a dressing room, waiting for when the wedding would begin. The night before Yami and Yuugi were not allowed to see each other so Yuugi kind of missed him. They had never gone so long without being with each other. Chan on the other hand had enjoyed letting Yuugi spent the night in her room, because it was like a fun little sleep over.

Joey chuckled from his spot on the sofa. He was dressed in a nice tux, but would have preferred to be wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Since Yuugi's grandfather had passed away all those years ago, Joey took on the role of big brother and was grateful to be the one to walk Yuugi down the aisle.

"You might wear a hole in the floor if you keep this up." He said with a smile.

Yuugi grinned at him but did not quit his pacing. "I'm ready to get this over with. I don't do well in front of huge crowds and since this is the King getting married there are going to be live cameras catching all the action for those who couldn't get into the wedding."

Joey stood from his spot and stopped Yuugi so he was looking at him. "As I'm sure most have already said to other brides out there. Don't worry about anyone else and focus on the groom. Yami may be the King, but he is your future husband and he is all that matters."

"Your right, but I still can't believe I'm marrying the King of this city. I thought I would just come here to start over," He replied and took a seat in Yami's desk chair when Joey led him to it.

Joey patted his shoulder hoping he could get Yuugi to relax before he had a break down from nerves. "Well I never thought my best friend would end up a vampire. This is one strange world we live in, but at least you are happy."

Yuugi flashed his friend a smile. "I remember when Yami finally said I could see you again. I knew you would flip when you found out what happened to me."

"I'll admit I was a little freaked out…" Joey admitted. "However I knew deep down and could see you were still my best bud."

Without warning Yuugi wrapped his arms around Joey's waist and hugged him. "Thank you so much for always being there for me."

Joey hugged Yuugi back. "I'll always be there for you and if Yami ever hurts you he'll have to answer to me."

Laughter filled the room, but Yuugi had no doubt that Joey would follow through with his promise. However in his heart Yuugi knew Yami would never hurt him on purpose. They had such a connection between them that Yuugi knew they were made for each other. Yuugi would never regret stumbling into the city all those years ago and meeting the man of his dreams.

A knock on the door broke the two from there laughing fit. Joey hurried over to it and opened the door to find Ethan and Taylor standing there all dressed up in their tuxes. Taylor grinned as Yuugi walked over to the two and they both got a look at Yuugi's outfit.

"You look great!" Ethan exclaimed. Taylor and Ethan had spent a month with Yuugi trying to find the right outfit that would be perfect for the wedding.

Yuugi blushed and looked down at his clothes. He had a pair of black bell bottom pants that flared out at the bottom and hugged his legs in all the right places. His shirt was a nice dark purple button up with the top two buttons undone and black vest to go over it. He had a red rose placed in his hair and around his neck was a new rose necklace. After the one he had before got destroyed, Yami made it his mission to make Yuugi a new one minus the shadows that lived inside the old one. The shadows had a new home inside the sword Yami kept locked in their closet until he thought of a better place to keep them safe. Neither of them wanted anyone to get control of the dangerous shadow magic.

Joey looked up at the twins. "So is everything going okay?"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah the ceremony is going to start in five minutes, so we thought it best if Yuugi head on down."

Yuugi took a deep breath and linked his arm with Joey's. "Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

The wedding had been set up beautifully in front of the newly built white gazebo in the garden near the fountain that had been restored thanks to Yuugi. There were rows of black chairs with white cushions on either side of a long red carpet. The gazebo had been decorated with lights and red and purple roses with a coffin set up in the middle of it. The coffin had a sterling silver candle holder that held three lit candles and one gold goblet filled with red wine sitting on it.

Mahado, who was serving as the priest, stood behind the coffin in traditional Egyptian robes, which were a sign of Yami's Egyptian culture. Yami was standing in front of the coffin quietly talking to Mahado as he waited for the ceremony to start. His outfit was of a black tux with crimson shirt and black tie. He also had on his mask again, but it was there for a reason that Yami kept secret from everyone. He said all would be explained in the wedding.

The guest witnessing the wedding up close mostly consisted of Yami's sister and her partner, along with the council, the children, and friends while Yuugi had just friends attending both from his hometown and new ones he made in the vampire city.

Lastly there were two news crews one set up at the back to capture the wedding from afar and another crew set up near the front to get a better shot of the King and his mate.

It was the wedding no one in the city wanted to miss.

Ethan and Taylor hurried down the aisle and up to their seats in the front as the wedding music started to play. Everyone who had been sitting stood and turned to watch Chan walk down the aisle throwing rose petals. She was cute in her little pink dress and clearly stood out from all the dark color clothing everyone else was wearing. Once she made it to her seat, Kotaro walked down the aisle carrying a red velvet pillow with two gold rings. After he made it down the aisle he took his place up in the gazebo by his father given he had the rings.

Then all eyes once again turned to see Yuugi at the end of the aisle with Joey. Joey linked arms once again with his friend and gave his elbow a gentle squeeze before they started a slow walk down the aisle.

Yuugi looked at no one else but his lover hoping to calm most of his nerves. He wasn't really nervous about marrying Yami it was more or less his fear of messing up the wedding. This was his first ever vampire wedding. He had seen normal human weddings before and Yami had offered to give him a normal wedding, but Yuugi wanted to have a wedding that all the vampires were having. He was after all now a vampire. At first it seemed like nothing was different about a normal or vampire wedding, except Yami explained that in a vampire wedding you are bonded for eternity. He had explained that there was a deeper connection since the two who are being wedded take blood from each other. Only vampires were allowed to have this ceremony or a vampire and human partnership, since most times the human wanted to be changed into a vampire. Humans could not bond with other humans for eternity because they were not immortal.

The wedding had sounded simple enough and Yuugi wanted more than anything to be bonded with Yami for eternity.

All too soon the two had reached the end of the aisle and Joey let go of Yuugi. As Joey went to take his seat, Yuugi continued up into the gazebo and stood before Yami. Yami gently took Yuugi's hands in his.

The music ended and everyone took their seats. Mahado cleared his throat before he began the ceremony. "Today we have gathered to unite these two in a bond that can never be broken. Our King has chosen his life mate and we will witness their bonding as a new start for this city as we welcome a second kindhearted ruler. But before we begin the bonding, our King would like to say something to his mate."

Yami let go of Yuugi's hands and carefully took the mask off his face, glad to have it off once again. Today was a new beginning for the two of them and he wanted to make a statement. "Yuugi…" He looked into his lover's eyes and could see nothing but love in them. "I used to be this distance and heartless ruler who only cared for himself. I would still be that man today if it hadn't been for your arrival into this city. I count every day we have together as a blessing, because so many times I have almost lost you. I never want to have that fear again and with your rebirth I hopefully never will. Today we are to be bonded for eternity and I pray that I will live up to be the best husband and mate for you."

The King held out his mask to Yuugi, who looked at it confused as he took it in his hands. As Yuugi turned his confused gaze up to Yami, did he continue speaking, "That mask will be a symbol of my past self and I want you, Yuugi Mutou, to do as you will with it so that I too may be reborn."

A smile formed its way onto Yuugi's face. "Anything…?"

Yami chuckled and nodded. "Anything you want."

Without a second thought to it Yuugi used all his strength to throw the mask behind him to land somewhere that neither of them cared to find out. However by the sound of part of a wall crumbling Yuugi and Yami figured it just took out a wall in the garden somewhere.

A quiet laughter broke out with their guest and Yuugi blushed. Sometimes he really didn't know his own strength. Yami did his best to keep a straight face as he once again took Yuugi's hands into his.

Mahado took a minute to compose himself and cleared his throat again to gain everyone's attention. "After that little show, it is now time to perform the bonding ceremony."

Silence followed as Mahado said a few words in an old Egyptian language and Yuugi and Yami took turns sipping from the goblet.

Yami then pulled Yuugi closer to him and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips before he moved down to Yuugi's neck. Gently he let his fangs pierce Yuugi's neck as he drank some of Yuugi's blood. After he removed his fangs he allowed Yuugi access to his neck so Yuugi may do the same. Yuugi, who was still a new vampire, wasted no time in allowing his fangs to pierce Yami's neck to allow the sweet blood he had come to know and love run into his awaiting mouth. He had been on a very strict diet of only blood bags so fresh blood was always a sweet treat. Only when Yami squeezed his waist did Yuugi let go a few seconds later.

The King kissed his mate again to wipe away any blood left behind on his lips. The two were consumed with bliss.

It was when they heard some wolf whistles from the crowd did they break apart. Yuugi had a nice dark blush on his face as he looked to see Joey, Ethan, Taylor, and Jason all grinning at them.

Mahado smiled at the two and continued with the ending of the ceremony. "The two have accepted each other's blood. It will serve as a symbol of their bond as will these rings."

Kotaro held up the pillow for his father as Yami reached for one of the rings. Yami turned to his mate and slipped the ring onto Yuugi's finger. The process was then repeated with Yuugi putting a ring on Yami's finger.

The two finally turned to their friends and everyone had looks of happiness on their faces.

"I'm pleased to present Yami and Yuugi, our Kings of Vampire City."

The small audience in the garden stood and clapped for the two and Yuugi could swear he could hear the whole city cheering for them.

The citizens of Vampire City did have something to cheer about because they had not one but two great rulers to rule over this great city. It was a place where vampires and humans could co-existence without fear.

The King looked down at Yuugi as Yuugi looked up at him. Yami pulled Yuugi in for one more kiss and whispered. "I'll love you for all eternity."

Yuugi in no way doubted his words as he whispered a sweet 'I'll always love you too' back to Yami.

Together hand in hand the rulers of Vampire City walked back down the aisle to begin the celebration of their newly formed bond that would forever last.

**The End!**


End file.
